To Love and To Promise
by LlaraTheExplorer
Summary: Set in the world of OoT, AU, post-game. Zelda has a younger sister, Princess Eliana. Time has been reset, and Link and Zelda grow up again, together this time. They fall in love, but keep it a secret from the King and Queen, with Eliana's help. As Zelda's 18th birthday approaches, her parents are furiously determined to wed her to a noble suitor. Cover art by muse-kr on DeviantArt!
1. Chapter 1

**Yay, new story! First full-length Zelda fanfiction!**

**Here's the full summary, the one I posted in my profile. I shortened it in the story summary.**

**"Set in the world of Ocarina of Time but slightly AU, because in this version, Princess Zelda has a little sister, the Princess Eliana. Link was sent back in time after defeating Ganondorf, but he grew up again with Zelda, sneaking into the castle every so often to see her, until he is finally awarded a position as one of the Captains of the Guard. Link and Zelda fall in love, and Eliana, whom Zelda affectionately calls Ellie, helps them keep their relationship a secret from the King and Queen. But what will become of them when Zelda reaches age and the King and Queen are furiously determined to wed her to a noble suitor?"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda!**

**Here goes.**

**"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."_ ― Dr. Seuss_**

* * *

Around the castle, the world was bright and loud with lights and music. It was that time again, the monthly ball had arrived. At Hyrule castle, chariots arrived and people chattered as the ball began. King and Queen Harkinian sat on their thrones at the head of the ballroom, watching their guests enjoy themselves. They would come down for the special King and Queen dance when the appropriate song played. Down on the floor, the colors lit up the room as the women strolled around in all dresses, varying in shades from dark blue all the way to bright yellow. They laughed and spun as they made the most of the simple joys of their lives.

On the floor, two particularly special young sisters were dancing hand in hand. The taller, a toned but youthful and beautiful woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes, was 17 years of age. The shorter, a less grown and defined but still gorgeous girl, was 15 years of age. She matched her elder sister with blue eyes, but her hair was a slightly darker color, almost a very light brown. They both wore simple, silver crowns upon their heads. Laughing and spinning each other, they shared a bond that could only be shared by those as close as sisters.

The dancing and talking hushed as King Harkinian of Hyrule cleared his throat and began to speak.

"My friends and guests," he spoke in a deep rumble. "I welcome you here to this castle. I take advantage of this celebration with the intention of honoring my two lovely daughters, one of which is almost the age to be married. My sweet girls, please come up here." He smiled and held out his hands.

The elder sister looked down upon the younger, smiling at her, and took her hand. Together they walked up to the King and Queen's thrones, and they each took one of their father's hands.

"On my left, the wise, the spirited, Princess Zelda Harkinian. She will reach eighteen years of age in a few short months, and I will be looking for a suitor worthy of her magnificence." The King squeezed Zelda's hand affectionately.

"On my right, the loyal, the graceful, Princess Eliana Harkinian. Though she is of younger age and smaller stature, she matches the beauty and composure of her elder." The King then repeated the earlier gesture on Eliana's smaller hand. "I surely must have done something right for the Goddesses to bless me with not only a wonderful wife, mother, and Queen, but also my two lovely daughters. Thank you all for attending and have a charming evening." He smiled for the audience, and they continued their dance and chatter as the music's volume picked back up.

Princess Zelda turned to the King. "Thank you, Father." Before he had the chance to reply, her face widened as she grinned and released her father's hand, stepping towards the younger princess and taking both of her hands once more.

"Come, dear, sweet Ellie, I have something I wish for you to see!" Princess Eliana giggled lightly and let her older sister lead her away.

As the two disappeared, the Queen, whom Zelda's looks are nearly identical to, reached over and took her husband's hand. The two shared a loving smile as they looked out upon the partygoers and thought of their beautiful daughters.

* * *

Minutes later, they sat on one of the higher balconies of the Castle. The view was something that anyone would die for. They could see all of Hyrule from the view, from Death Mountain, to the Kokiri Forest, to Lake Hylia. They could see the lake shining under the stars, the children playing in the forest, the horses running in the ranch, and the busy people of Kakariko Village. It was the daughters' favorite place to sit.

Ellie grinned, jabbing her sister's side with her finger. "Zel, why did you bring me up here? We've been up here a thousand times, what's new to see? I want to dance!" Zelda turned to her sister, rubbing her hands with her thumbs.

"Because, my dear, sweet, Ellie," Zelda said, grinning back for a moment before looking, to her sister's concern, oddly serious. "We lost this beautiful world seven years ago, and we've grown to be 17 and 15 for the second time in our lives. I know I reversed time, but it still happened. We still experienced the fear and loss of Ganondorf's reign. I did my duty in disguise as a Sheikah while you took refuge in hiding with Mother and Father, and I was worried sick about you the whole time. I just want to take more advantage of this sight now, considering that we never know what could happen to Hyrule again." She smiled a sad smile at her sister.

"Oh, Zel, lighten up. I understand those were dark and difficult times, but no one remembers them except for the royal family. I'm safe. Mother and Father are safe. We're together again and the people are safe." Ellie looked up at the dark blue sky and the shimmering lights. "The Goddesses protected us last time it happened. They could protect us if anything happened again. Besides," Ellie said, grinning mischeviously, "Now you've got your boyfriend to protect you."

Zelda grinned back. "If I recall, I was the one saving his sorry butt more than once. Sure, Ganondorf got me and trapped me in his palace, and Link saved me then, but before that, when I was Sheik, the Hero never would have gotten as far without me."

Ellie laughed. "Don't let him hear you say that, he'll deny every word!"

"I think I can take him in a fight. I'm a Sheikah!" Zelda hissed the last word gleefully, then laughed. "Oh, my sweet Ellie, I would be so lonely with you. I don't even know where the Hero is. After I sent him back in time to relive his childhood, he has come to visit me more than a few times, as you know, but I haven't seen him recently. Where has he been staying?" Zelda mused, partly to Ellie and partly to herself.

"Who knows? He still has his house in the Kokiri Forest, Zel. He can't stay there forever though. He'll show his face again sometime soon, you know he can't bear to stay away from you." Ellie grinned and nudged her sister. Zelda turned slightly pink, but her eyes lit with playful fire as she struck back.

"And you can't bear to stay away from that suitor that you've danced with three times already! They're supposed to be for me, you know." Now it was Ellie's turn to blush.

"His father must be a dolt to send him to be one of your suitors. He's younger than you, and that's weird."

"You're just saying that because you want him to be your boyfriend." Zelda said, poking Ellie's shoulder.

"It's true though!" Ellie said, laughing. She paused, then smiled at her elder sister. "I would be lonely without you too. Do you remember all those pranks we used to play on the staff when we were children? They were determined that we should have been born boys because of all the 'rowdy behavior we participated in'!"

Zelda laughed. It felt good to laugh. "Of course! And when we snuck out of the castle for several hours and had Father worried sick! It was even more annoying for him when we came back carrying all those lizards and bugs and little animals! Oh, the priceless expressions on the faces of the staff!"

Princess Zelda and Princess Ellie, best friends since they were children, reminisced for another half hour before heading back down into the ballroom, at Ellie's insistence. Zelda picked up her light pink ball gown and took off down the hall, while Ellie picked up her light blue ball gown and followed closely, determined to win the race back to the ballroom. But of course, when they saw the guards down the hall, they stopped and composed themselves, walking majestically back into the ballroom.

* * *

The next day, Princess Zelda and Princess Eliana practiced out in the yard doing multiple things. Archery, self-defense, fencing, and running. After they spent the morning out in the sunny courtyard, they went inside, changed clothes, and went for their lessons.

After they finished, they strolled through the halls, hand in hand.

"And when he said, 'Have you got that, Your highness?' I just couldn't stop thinking, 'Oh, what a bore that man is!'" Ellie mimicked, laughing.

Zelda turned and gave Ellie a chiding but amused look. "Oh, Ellie, treat the poor man well! He tells such wonderful stories."

Ellie clicked her tongue in a tsk sound. "Oh Zel, come back to reality, would you? We don't live in a world of fairytales and dreams come true!"

Zelda grinned, but squeezed Ellie's hand affectionately. "You never know, maybe one day I will have my happy ever after." _It's a wonder how she can be so playful and childish, yet so mature and insightful at the same time, _Zelda thought.

Their conversation was cut short as Zelda and Ellie were approached by a member of the King and Queen's Committee. "Your highnesses, The King and Queen require your presence in the throne room. A new Captain of the Guard is to be knighted and as you know, the royal family attends it."

Zelda smiled warmly at him. "Thank you. We will come." The man bowed, turned and left, and Ellie sighed.

"Must we?" Ellie whined. "There's no point in our attendance there."

Zelda immediately turned toward her, put her finger under Ellie's chin, and raised her head. "Stand tall, smile, and remember your duties as a Princess. My dear, sweet Ellie, we all have jobs we must do. Thank the Goddesses every day that you were blessed to be born to the King and Queen, for you are privileged with servants and fine food and clothing. Because of this, we have a duty to the people, for we are nothing without them. I love you, little sister, and we must love our people too. This new Captain deserves our attendance as a way of honoring him."

Ellie hesitated, then smiled. She knew her elder sister had the Triforce of Wisdom for a reason. "You are so wise, big sister. You will make a great Queen one day." The sad smile that accompanied this statement went unnoticed by the elder sister.

Zelda leaned down and kissed her on the nose. "Thank you, sweet Ellie. We must come now, we don't want to keep Father and Mother waiting."

* * *

Moments later, the guards pulled open the wide doors, and the Princesses entered, side by side. They walked up to their smaller thrones next to the King and Queen's wide thrones, and sat down, smoothing out their skirts.

The large doors groaned as they were pulled open again, and the royal family awaited the appearance of the soon-to-be Captain of the Guard. Footsteps could be heard down the hall, and Zelda felt her heart pounding faster. _Why am I anxious? It's just another member of our army. They never make me nervous, what's so different about-_

Zelda's thoughts were cut off as one of the current Captains brought his soon-to-be Co-Captain into the room.

_Link._

The green-clad, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, handsome man strolled into the throne room, attempting to walk as gracefully as he could. Zelda felt her cheeks go hot and she desperately attempted to compose herself before someone noticed.

He then looked at her, and she saw the corner of his lips twitch slightly upward as they made eye contact, but he also composed himself and turned his attention to the King.

The knighting ceremony began, and Zelda began to have flashbacks of those seven years of Ganondorf's reign, and her time with Link afterwards.

_[begin flashback]_

_The ground rumbled and the sky grew dark. It was the middle of the day, but the dark clouds rolled in and smoke began to cover all the surrounding areas of the castle. The gates and the arches outside the castle began to collapse, and guards quivered as they attempted to hold their ground. The screams of the people out in the Market Town grew louder and louder until they diminished. The smoke warped around the castle and it was changing, darkening. It was no longer beautiful, and the Royal Family desperately tried to make their escape._

_The guards surrounded them as they rushed out of the changing castle. They ran quickly into the chariot, the King and Queen pulling the Princesses Zelda and Eliana into their arms. Impa remained outside the chariot on watch._

"_The Door of Time was opened, Father!" Young Zelda choked out, immersed in fear. "Ganondorf, he has the triforce, it's no longer safe! He wants mine! He's after me, Father, I-" Young Eliana began to sob, too young to understand anything else but her fear. The Queen drew Ellie tighter into her arms._

"_Zelda!" The King scolded. "Hush that talk! There is nothing we can do anymore, princess. We must hide and pray that the Goddesses bring us safely home when this is over."_

"_Father, I opened the door! The boy from the forest and I, we-" Zelda continued in desperation._

_The King stared at her. "You used the royal family's ocarina and the boy's spiritual stones to open that door? Zelda, what were you-" He began to rage._

"_I sensed evil about him, Father, and I knew we needed to protect the stones and the ocarina from him! This is my responsibility, I recruited the boy to help me! I must help him put an end to this!"_

_The King grew angrier. "Zelda, you are nothing more than a child! You are coming to hiding with us!"_

"_No, Father!" Zelda cried angrily, surprised by her own outburst. "I have the Triforce of Wisdom, and I will stay with Impa, but you must take Mother and Ellie and go into hiding! I must remedy what I have caused! Only then will the Goddesses help us!"_

"_Zelda-!"_

_Zelda wiggled out of her father's arms, pushed the curtain in front of the chariot window aside, and leaped into the arms of Impa, who was riding alongside the chariot on her white horse._

"_Zellie!" Came the desperate plea, from the mouth of the younger princess, seeing her sister gone._

_Zelda turned and looked into the chariot, at her sister's terrified face. "I love you, Ellie!" She cried. "I'm doing this for you! I will make the world safe so you can come back, and we'll never be apart again! Be good to Mother and Father!"_

_Hearing Zelda's words, the King's face tightened up even more in anger, and Ellie cried out once more for her sister. The King angrily leaned out the window, but was silenced by the expression on the face of the Sheikah._

"_This is her destiny, King Harkinian. Princess Zelda must help the boy save the world."_

_The King's lips drew together in a tight line, staring at Impa in silence._

"_She will be safe. No harm will come to her. Please, your majesty, take Princess Eliana and your Queen and go into hiding. I will keep Zelda and help her fulfill her destiny safely." Impa said calmly but firmly._

_With that said, Impa grabbed the reins, Zelda clinging to her, and sped off to where she would prepare young Zelda for her destiny to come in 7 years, when she is grown._

_She did not see her family for those seven years, and Zelda trained tirelessly so that this would all be over soon, and she would be able to bring her dear sister back home. _

"_I will see you again soon, my sweet Ellie." Princess Zelda whispered as she bound her hair back into the Sheikah outfit, and pulled her mask up over her face. "And then everything will be as it was."_

* * *

_[flashback continues]_

_After those seven years passed and the Hero awoke, Zelda appeared to him as Sheikah and continued to play her part in saving the world from Ganondorf. After the Hero defeated the beast and the castle collapsed, it was all over._

_Link stood there, covered in bruises and cuts, a gash in his arm. Ganondorf had been weakened to a near-death state and sealed away in the Sacred Realm, never to bring pain again. The magical barrier came down, and the Princess ran across the rubble of the castle into the arms of the Hero, as gently as her relieved self could manage, for fear of hurting him._

_Zelda wrapped her arms around his torso, and he responded weakly at first with his arms carefully around her, but tightened them after a few moments, pulling her in close._

"_You saved Hyrule. You saved me." She whispered into his chest. Upon hearing her, he lowered his head down and placed it on top of hers, breathing in her sweet scent._

"_I'd do it all again for you." She heard him weakly murmur into her hair. She was surprised as she felt him quietly chuckle, then groan because it hurt him to laugh. "Although I am certainly glad it's over."_

_She looked up at him and smiled. "Me too. But now we need to get you taken care of."_

_They walked away from the rubble of the castle until they found grass, Link leaning on Zelda as they walked. When they found a soft spot of grass, Zelda laid him down and began to tend to his wounds as best as she could with what she had, which isn't much._

_When she finished, he murmured a quick thanks, smiled at her, and leaned back against a nearby tree. Zelda scooted over to him, and he wrapped his good arm around her as she gently laid against him._

"_You can rest for a little while, but then we need to fix all of this. Put it back to the way it was." Zelda said quietly. Link turned to look at her with a questioning look._

"_What do you mean? What are you going to do?"_

_Zelda sighed and looked up at him. "Hyrule has been plagued with monsters and evil for the past 7 years. You missed out on those 7 years of your life while you slept in the Sacred Realm, and all the families, including mine, have been in hiding for much longer than they should have been. This is not the way it should be. The Goddesses have given me a plan. I must use the Ocarina to reset time, Link. Ganondorf will still be locked up, but we must go back to 7 years ago and erase all this from history. You, my family and I will be the only ones to remember what actually happened. We have to grow up again."_

_Link was quiet, looking down._

"_You will still be remembered for your deeds by my family. Dear Link, Ganondorf would not be locked away if it weren't for you. Your deeds will not be forgotten."_

_Link looked up at her with a small smile. "Living a normal 7 years without all this drama sounds pretty good to me."_

_Zelda giggled. "Very well. Rest, and then we shall reset the time." Zelda smiled at him. "My sister will be safe. I can't imagine how awful these 7 years were for her."_

_Link pulled her tighter against him, ignoring the pain he felt. "You'll be together with her again soon."_

"_I know." Zelda whispered, smiling._

_They fell asleep then, and when they awoke, it was time._

_The song was played, and the blinding light shone in their faces. As the Goddesses began the act of resetting the time back 7 years, Link and Zelda looked at each other and smiled, making a silent promise that when they were children, they would find each other again._

* * *

_[flashback still continues]_

_Zelda opened her eyes, and looked around. She was in her bedroom in the castle. Her castle, the place that was rubble only minutes before. It was restored._

_Zelda let out a laugh of joy and looked down at herself. Her body that had previously been a grown body of a young woman was now an undeveloped body of a 10 year old child once more. She straightened her dress, not sure what to think about the sudden change. It was strange, especially since she still had the mind of her grown self._

_Ellie!_

_Zelda gasped. She hadn't seen her sister in seven years! Kicking off her shoes, Zelda began to run out of her room and down the castle hallway to her sister's room. She nearly collided with someone in the hallway, and she looked up to see who it was._

"_Father!" Zelda squealed. He smiled and picked her up, drawing her in close._

"_My Princess," he whispered. "You saved Hyrule. I remember those 7 years of agony, and yet they didn't happen. All thanks to you."_

_The Queen ran up beside them then, drawing them both into her arms as well._

"_I missed you, Mother."_

"_I missed you too, my sweet daughter. You did well."_

_Zelda's eyes popped open again and she began squirming in their arms. "Where's Ellie?!"_

_The King laughed and set her down, and she bolted into her sister's room. The young princess, only 8 years old once more, was sitting on the edge of her bed, taking in everything that had just happened. Eliana recalled the last 7 years in her memory, but she was no longer the 15 year old that she had grown to be during Ganondorf's reign._

_Ellie looked up, and her face immediately lit up. "Zellie!" She leaped off the bed and into her sister's arms._

_Tears could be seen and sobs could be heard coming from both of the young princesses at their reunion._

"_Oh, Zellie, I missed you so much. Living apart from you for 7 years while hiding from all the creatures out on the land was the most horrible thing. You can't leave me again." Ellie whispered softly as she cried."But you saved me and Mother and Father, Zel. My sister, you saved Hyrule." She laughed quietly._

"_Ellie, I missed you so much too. It was awful knowing where you were but knowing that I couldn't go see you or else I'd put you in danger. But it's all over, my sweet Ellie. We will still remember it, but now we can spend 7 years growing up the right way. We can spend them growing up together." Zelda hugged Eliana tighter._

_Though they were both only children, they had gone through so much, and they knew that they would get through it together._

_[flashback over]_

The 17 year old Princess Zelda watched the new Co-Captain, her Hero, being knighted, as she recalled all of these events. After time had been restored and she had been reunited with Ellie, they had spent the next 7 years spending as much time together as they could.

Link had come to the castle shortly after time had been restored, and Zelda had snuck out past the guards to spend some time with him as they spoke about being children again and all the other strange happenings. It became routine for Link to come visit her every once every few weeks as they grew up, though he still lived in the Kokiri Forest. But now that he was appointed as a co-Captain of the guard, he would be around much more frequently. Zelda smiled. After Ellie, he was her second favorite person to spend time with.

After his knighting as the Co-Captain, he had been dragged away to get started on his training and initiation, but he made eye contact with Zelda as they pulled him out and she knew he would be around to see her later. She began to smile, but quickly composed herself once more.

Zelda made the mistake of glancing at Ellie. The younger princess was already looking at Zelda, with a knowing glance in her eyes and her eyebrows raised suggestively, grinning. Zelda felt her cheeks go hot and quickly looked away.

* * *

It wasn't until two hours later that Zelda heard a knock on her bedroom door as she sat in front of the mirror, brushing her hair.

"Come in," she called.

The door slowly pushed open, and Zelda turned in her seat. Her heart began to pound as the blue eyed, blonde haired man that she adored so much slipped into the room and shut the door behind himself. Link grinned at her and opened his arms as she stood up and threw herself into them. He pulled her tight, burying his face in her hair.

"Looks like I'll get to see you a lot more often now," he said quietly. "Except for the many hours a day I'll be training the guard, but at least I'll be here."

"Thank the goddesses for that," Zelda breathed. She removed herself from his arms and went to sit on the edge of her bed. He followed suit, sitting down next to her.

He looked over at her, seeing the weight in her eyes. "What's on your mind?"

Zelda sighed, but smiled. "I should have known you'd see right through me. I was just thinking about the 7 years that you were locked away, where I was kept away from my family, and about the trials that you and I had to face, and then the time reset."

Link cautiously reached over and took her hand. "You're thinking about all the heavy stuff, no wonder you looked so serious." He got no response from her. He released her hand and scooted closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in. With his other hand, he took her face and tilted it up towards him. Her blue eyes shined as she looked up at him, and he smiled. "That's all done now. We lived the 7 years over again in a better way, with each other and with your sister. It's okay." Zelda smiled as she looked down, wrapping her arms around him.

"You're right. It's just something you can't really forget." Zelda said, letting herself lean completely into him. She knew he was completely capable of holding her up.

"Well, we can try," Link said as he brushed his lips across her hair. She tensed and he stopped, pulling back slightly. Link mentally kicked himself. _Of course she tensed, she doesn't want me, I'm just a forest boy, she belongs to a suitor who can give her everything, what was I thinking-_

His thoughts were cut off as Zelda looked up at him and moved her arms up around his neck. Instinctively, he moved his arm around her shoulders down to her waist, wrapping both arms around her. She leaned up into him, and it wasn't long before he was kissing her. _Well, she's responding, but this still isn't right, she's a princes-_

She deepened the kiss, and soon they were kissing each other with all of the pain and longing that they had felt during those 7 years and the trials shortly afterwards. They felt comforted as it was all released with the breaths they took in between their kisses.

Moments later, they sat there in each other's arms on the edge of the bed, their breathing slowing as they simply enjoyed the company.

Finally, Link spoke quietly. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" Zelda shushed him quickly with a finger to his lips.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have." Zelda said seriously, then she grinned. "However, I don't care, because I think I wanted that as much as you did."

Link smiled, and then stopped as he thought. "Well, what happens now? I mean, your father is still sending suitors-"

Zelda groaned quietly. "Don't remind me. I try to respect them because I need to set a good example for Ellie, but I detest them." She paused, looking thoughtful. "I'll come up with something to get out of the suitor situation, but in the meantime, we either have to cease this or keep it a secret, because if my father finds out, there's no telling what he could do to you. I can't lose you now, especially after you went through so much to save Hyrule and save me. You are far more valiant than any of my suitors."

Link pressed his forehead against hers, and her arms tightened around his neck as she closed her eyes, feeling no desire to ever let go. "Well, now that we've begun a relationship, I don't think I want to stop now, so it looks like we've got a secret adventure on our hands."

* * *

**First chapter finished! (:**

**Please oh please review, I want to know if that was good or not!**

**I really hope you liked it!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Second** **chapter**,** here we go! Yay!**

**This one is a fair amount shorter, so sorry about that, but I hope you still enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda. Just the OC's I created. (Ex: Ellie and Tobias)**

** "Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet." _― Plato_**

* * *

_Young Zelda stood in the courtyard, where she was standing when Link met her the first time. Her forest boy, come to help her save Hyrule. Time had been reset and she was waiting for Link to come find her again. She frowned, it had been several hours. Why wasn't he here yet? Didn't he want to see her?_

_She heard quiet footsteps on the tile at the beginning of the court yard, and she turned excitedly. There, in his mini green tunic and hat, was her Hero. He stood there, breathing quickly but smiling at her. Without hesitation, she ran towards him, over the tiny bridge and into his arms._

"_I knew you'd come find me." Zelda giggled. His tiny, 10 year old arms closed around her. "Sure took you a while though."_

"_Yeah, sorry about the late thing, the guards were a little difficult to get around today." Link said. "But how could I miss coming to see you?"_

_Zelda smiled, and stepped back. "Even though it feels odd to be young again, I feel happy because I know we can grow up together this time." She stepped closer and grasped his small hands. "We're going to be the greatest of friends. I'll always feel safe if you're out here with me."_

_He gently squeezed her hands. "The best." He grinned, and released her hands. "I'll come to see you as often as I can. Just make sure your father doesn't strengthen the guard force over there, or it'll make it hard to come see you. They don't need to protect you as long as I'm here, anyway."_

_Zelda laughed. "Of course, you have enough ego to take down an entire army."_

_Link elbowed her in the side playfully, smirking. "I prefer the term extreme confidence."_

Zelda smiled as she recalled the memory vaguely. She knew she would much rather be spending time with Link right now, but he was training guards, as he was now a Captain. She also had a suitor meeting she must attend. Her 18th birthday was still months away, but her father was looking for suitors early so she would have one chosen by her birthday. She also has to keep her meetings with her Hero on the down-low, because he isn't even supposed to be touching her any further than an escorting hand on her arm. _That reminds me, I must tell Ellie. I keep no secrets from her._

Zelda elegantly clasped her hands together in front of her body and strolled down the castle halls to the room where the suitor was waiting. Her father had mentioned his name to her, but she knew none else about him. The King had called him Prince Tobias of Termina.

She stepped up to the door of the room, where a guard stood. The guard pushed the door open and stood in front of it, announcing Zelda to those in the room.

"Princess Zelda has arrived."

He made way for her and she stepped through the door. King Harkinian sat behind a large, brown desk, and two men stood to the side of the desk. An older man, resembling the King with his white beard and robes, stood with a younger man, clearly the suitor. Prince Tobias stood tall with a strong stature. He had a fresh shaven look and smell, and light brown hair, just down to his ears, and he also stood elegantly with his hands in front of him. Zelda could not deny that he was attractive.

Upon her entrance, the Prince bowed, and upon rising, approached Zelda and took her hand. After reverently laying a kiss upon it, he gently released it and stood tall once more.

"You are far more beautiful than your father has said, Your Highness. I am Prince Tobias of Termina, and if it would please you, I would like to get to know you this afternoon." He was holding himself with an air of confidence, but Zelda could tell that he was nervous. Hoping to ease him, she smiled at him, and she noticed that his body relaxed slightly after she did so.

"It would please me, Prince Tobias. The gardeners have outdone themselves with the back garden, why don't we take a walk there?" She smiled at him again.

"That sounds delightful, Princess Zelda."

* * *

Princess Ellie had just finished one of her history classes and was walking through the halls of the castle. She was on her way to the kitchen to get some bread when she passed Zelda and Tobias in the hallway. She saw them from a little ways off and stopped instantly. She watched as they held quiet conversation, Tobias' arm out, and Zelda walking close around his arm. Zelda's gaze fell on Ellie, and they made eye contact for a few moments before she smiled, and pulled Tobias aside gently to where Ellie was.

"Prince Tobias, this is my younger sister, Princess Eliana." Zelda smiled up at him, and Tobias reached out to take the younger princesses' hand, showing her the same respect as he did Zelda.

"I believe we have met. Did I not dance with you at the last ball, Princess Eliana?" Tobias said with a smile.

"I believe you did, Prince Tobias. It's lovely to see you again." Eliana curtsied slightly. _I do believe they shared more than one dance at the last ball, _Zelda thought as she looked at Eliana with a gleeful, knowing smile. "I have business to attend to now, but I hope we get the chance to talk again." Eliana said before curtsying once more and walking down the hallway past them. She looked back at them as they headed toward the back door to the gardens.

Upon entering the kitchen door, she grabbed a piece of bread from the counter in the kitchen, and her gaze fell upon someone sitting at a table. She grinned and strolled over, sitting next to him at the table.

"Hey there, Hero." Eliana said, nudging Link with her elbow. He looked up from his lunch and smiled at the younger princess before jabbing her in the side with his finger.

"You know, that's not very ladylike." He said, grinning at her.

Eliana rolled his eyes at him, and then threw a piece of her bread at his face. As if expecting it, he opened his mouth and caught it smoothly. "Oh please, you're practically my big brother, I owe you no manners."

In response to that, he leaned toward her and opened his mouth wide, giving her a lovely view of the half chewed bread in his mouth. She laughed loudly and put a hand on his face, pushing it away. "Real mature of you, Link." He laughed as best as he could with food in his mouth, and finished swallowing before he spoke.

"So where's Zelda?" He said, poking at his food with a fork.

"That's Princess Zelda to you, peasant," She teased, then elbowed him to show she was kidding. He smiled and rolled his eyes, but waited for her to continue. "She's going for a walk with one of her suitors." Link's hand froze, but he composed himself quickly and started poking at his food again before Eliana could notice. "He's really a great guy, Link. I've met him on numerous occasions. She's safe with him."

Link nodded. "That's good." Eliana stared at him. She had caught his reaction seconds ago. She had actually been watching for it.

"You like her, don't you?" Eliana whispered quietly. The reaction Link gave to this question was not the one she thought she'd get. Rather than getting flustered and nervous, he looked up at her, calm and… confused? Eliana's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she stared at him.

"You don't know." Link stated. It wasn't a question.

"Um… what?"

"She didn't tell you." He stated again.

Eliana started to get a little nervous. "What didn't she tell me?" She said impatiently.

Link looked down and started muttering. "Well, it was only the other day, maybe Zelda just didn't get the chance, I mean, you two are really close…"

"Link!" Eliana hissed, struggling to remain composed. "Tell me! Wait, please tell me Zelda's not pregnant, is she?"

Link looked up at her quickly, a little shocked, but he recovered quickly and laughed quietly. "No, no. Nothing like that." He leaned in close to Eliana's face and spoke softly. "I don't know if I should tell you, Zelda should be the one to tell you, but since I've got you all worried, I'll just tell you now. We're, um, kind of, in a secret relationship." He studied her face for a response.

Eliana looked at him and found no sign of humor, so she knew he was serious. She looked down a moment, and looked back up at him. "Well, I think we all knew this was coming, and I'm happy for the two of you, but I think we all know this could also end very badly."

Link nodded. "Yeah, we're taking a big chance here. Your parents would be very angry with Zelda and I would probably be put to death. But I care about her a lot."

Eliana paused again before responding. "You also know you can't legally marry her, right? It's the whole 'she's a princess, you're a commoner' thing."

Link smiled a sad smile at Eliana. "Zelda's gunna read through the laws and see what she can do, but yes, I am aware. Maybe there's a loophole somewhere."

"For your sake, I sure hope so. It would be fantastic if you were actually my big brother. Then I'd get to tease you all the time!" Eliana grinned.

"I think you should actually be concerned, cause that means you're stuck with me!" Link insisted.

"The real problem here is that Zelda's stuck with both of us. We'd probably drive her crazy after a while." Eliana said. "If we haven't already."

Link looked at her with his eyebrows raised and spoke in an unnaturally deep voice, grinning weirdly at Eliana. "Crazy with looove."

Eliana choked on her bread and started laughing once she swallowed the bread. "You're a creep, Link."

"I think I just proved my point."

Eliana stood up to head back to her room, but before she walked away from the table, she looked at Link with the same weird face he had just used on her, and spoke quickly before running off. "Name your first child after me!"

As she walked quickly away, the sound of Link's choke followed by his laughter filled her with joy. _Sweet revenge. But as much as he drives me crazy, I would love it if h__e were my big brother._

* * *

Zelda watched Prince Tobias' chariot drive away from the castle and exhaled with exhaustion. She had actually enjoyed her time with the suitor, he had been quite nice, but keeping up her front with the suitors was tiring.

She knew she had to go find Eliana and tell her about Link now, and she set off toward her sister's chambers.

On the way she passed Link, but since the castle was a public place, she just smiled at him as he bowed to her, and he slipped another note into her hand as she brushed past him. They used many of these notes to coordinate their secret meeting times and meeting places. She would open it once she reached Eliana's chambers.

At the door, she knocked, and heard the gentle call. "Come in."

Zelda turned the handle and pushed the large door open. "Hello, Ellie!" She called, shutting the door behind herself.

Eliana sat up on the bed where she had been laying as she read her book, and gave her elder sister a small chastising look.

Zelda stopped. "What is it?"

"Link told me."

Zelda sighed. "I'm sorry, Ellie, I was going to, but I was busy with the suitors and classes and-"

"It's alright, Zel. As long as you weren't planning on hiding it from me."

Zelda feigned shock. "You think that I, your loving older sister, would attempt to hide that from you? Oh, I'm hurt!" Ellie grinned, and Zelda came and sat next to her on the bed. "I was going to tell you when I found the chance. But, as I'm sure you already know, Mother and Father are not to know about this."

"That's quite obvious, Zel."

Zelda smiled at her. "So, what are you reading?"

Ellie looked down shyly. "Oh, it's nothing, you wouldn't be interested in it, you like reading novels."

Zelda looked at Ellie oddly and reached over, taking the book. She turned to the front cover, while keeping a finger in it to hold Ellie's place, and read the name. "_Duties and Responsibilities of a Queen." _Zelda laughed gently and looked tenderly at Ellie. "You read Mother's books?"

Ellie frowned and took the book from Zelda quickly. "You wouldn't understand, you don't like… I want to…"

"Ellie." Zelda said firmly, and put her hand over Eliana's. The younger looked up at her. "I think it's wonderful. I just wasn't expecting it." Ellie's face softened, and Zelda paused before she continued. "You... want to be Queen?"

There was a chance that Ellie would not get the opportunity to rule, seeing as Zelda, the elder, would be the Queen of Hyrule, who would likely live in good health all of her days. Eliana could marry a firstborn Prince and get to be a Queen, but that wasn't guaranteed to be the case. Zelda always assumed Eliana would never be too affected by this or even want to be Queen, but a realization was dawning on Zelda.

Eliana quickly stumbled for a response. "Oh, no, you'll make a far better Queen, I just feel that I should be aware so that I may be of use, maybe advise if needed, and be there, prepared, if my country were to need me." She attempted to speak confidently and smiled at Zelda to help prove her point.

Zelda paused a moment and smiled back at Eliana. "Well, you'll definitely be the first I go to for advice when I'm Queen. I love you, Ellie." Zelda squeezed her sister's hand affectionately.

"I love you too, Zel. Now go find your boyfriend." Eliana grinned. Zelda opened the note in her hand and read it.

"Oh, I need to meet him in the gardens!" Zelda said excitedly. "Bye, Ellie." She said, jumping up and heading out of the chambers.

Eliana watched her go and shut the doors behind herself. After a few moments, she pulled the diary out from under her pillow and opened it to today's page. She grabbed her pen nearby.

_I love Zelda, and I know she'll make a great Queen one day. But I __would make a good Queen too. I want to make a difference in the world. I want to be a Queen, and I want to mean something to people. But maybe I just wasn't meant to be Queen._

* * *

**I hope you guys are enjoying the love quotes I'm putting on the top of every chapter. I think they're adorable.**

**Please please review! It means a lot to me!**

**I hope you liked the new chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay, chapter three!**

**This one's a little random at the beginning, but there's some good stuff in the middle. Hope you enjoy it!**

**To all of the people who have reviewed so far, thank you and I love you! I hope you know I'm taking what you all say/advise into great consideration!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, just my OC's.**

**"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."_ ― Nicole Krauss, The History Of Love_**

* * *

"A masquerade!" Zelda cheered excitedly as she sat in Eliana's chambers with her. "The upcoming ball is a masquerade! We have so few of those, yet they're so much fun!"

"It's so mysterious!" Eliana said gleefully. "You can also dance with Link as often as you want because he won't be recognizable."

"I know, it's perfect! Oh, that reminds me, I have to make sure he goes to his suit fitting for the masque today."

The door to Eliana's chambers opened, and a maid stood there in the entryway. Zelda and Eliana looked at her expectantly, and she turned slightly pink.

"Oh, I, um… it's time for your dress fittings, Your Highnesses." She said quickly.

Zelda smiled and grabbed Eliana's hand. "Let's go, Ellie!" Saying a quick thanks to the maid at the door, the two princesses ran out the door, Zelda pulling Eliana excitedly behind her.

"Slow down, Zel!"

An hour later, they were standing in the shop in their dresses while the tailors worked on the dresses around their bodies. Zelda was wearing a deep red dress with a full, large skirt, and elbow-length sleeves. It was ruch-styled around the waist. The dress was wide-shouldered, so her shoulders were exposed, the sleeves were connected at the end of her shoulders. The style complimented her thin and curvy figure. It was beautiful and elegant. Eliana was wearing a sapphire blue dress with short cup sleeves on her shoulders, and also a large, full skirt. It had a lighter blue sash around the waist, and due to the shortness of the sleeves, it came with matching light blue, elbow length gloves. The two stood there in the dresses as the women made alterations to fit their figures. Each of the princesses had masks to match their dresses.

"These are beautiful, Zel! I'm so excited!" Eliana squealed.

A while later, the alterations were finished. The girls returned the dresses to the tailors so they could make the finishing touches before the ball, and proceeded to exit the shop. On the way out, they nearly bumped into Link, who was coming in for his suit fitting. Smiling slyly at her, he pressed another note into Zelda's hand. She closed her hand tightly around the note and made no attempt to hide the smile across her face. They exited the shop and returned to the castle.

In the castle, Zelda returned to her chambers. She opened the note and read it. _Top northwest balcony, 8:00 pm. _She smiled. That was her favorite balcony, the one with the most magnificent view. She walked over to her vanity, where she does her hair and makeup every morning, and opened one of the tiny drawers below the mirror. She looked at her collection of notes inside the drawer, and inserted the note inside with the rest. _Why must something that is so wrong be so wonderful?_

* * *

It was 8 o'clock, and Zelda stood outside, enjoying the crisp nighttime air on the balcony. She loved the lights in the village and the ranch that she could see from up there. She was peering all the way over at the Kokiri Forest when she felt arms move themselves around her waist.

"Hey," she heard that husky voice that she loved so much in her ear, and his warm breath sent shivers down her spine. She twisted around in his arms so that she was facing him, and she remembered that she loved his beautiful blue eyes.

"Hi," she giggled quietly. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before she wrapped her arms tight around his torso and buried her face in his neck. He rested his head on hers and closed his eyes. _I love the way her hair smells like coconuts and mangoes. _Link thought, smiling.

As they stood there in each other's arms, Eliana was on her way out to the balcony to think. But when she approached the doors, her hand stopped a few inches away from the handle, because she could see the two people she loved so much out on the balcony through the doors. She saw Link's back to her, and she could see the top of Zelda's head over his broad shoulder, her silver crown shining. With no desire to interrupt, she backed slowly away from the balcony, but decided to sit nearby, to make sure no one would come find them.

After she had been sitting for some time, she heard footsteps. She felt the pace of her heart quicken and she jumped up to see who it was. She saw Impa come around the corner down the hall, and she immediately walked quickly to her, to distract her and lead her away.

"Oh, Impa!" Eliana said as she ran up to the Sheikah. "I had a question about something I read in my history book earlier. Could you come look at it with me?"

Impa glanced over the young Princess' shoulder and then looked back at her. "I'm on patrol, Eliana." Impa started to move past the girl, but Eliana quickly stepped in front of her.

"There's already a guard down the hallway over there, he'll be fine until you come back. It'll be quick, please?"

Impa opened her mouth, then closed it and sighed. "Fine. Quickly."

Eliana grinned and grabbed Impa's hand, pulling her back down the hallway from where she came. _You two had better hurry, I can't delay her forever._

On the balcony, Link kissed the top of her head, then grinned as he carefully but quickly plucked her crown off her head. She quickly stepped out of his embrace. "Hey!" She said, laughing. With his other hand, Link swiped his own green hat off his head and plopped it on Zelda's. It fell quickly over her eyes and she giggled, pushing it up so she could see him. He had put the crown on his head and was looking at her with a goofy grin on his face.

"How do I look?"

Zelda laughed. "Simply dashing. It really brings out your eyes."

He rolled his eyes at her goofy remark but laughed, and returned the crown and hat to their proper heads. Zelda adjusted her crown, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her close and came down for another kiss, this one longer and more passionate. After some time had passed, they pulled away, breathing hard.

"I hope you'll save me a dance at the masquerade, Princess." Link said quietly.

"If I could simply dance with you the entire night, my life would be complete." Zelda whispered, pressing herself tighter into his embrace.

After enjoying one another's company for some time longer, it was time for them to retire to their chambers. With a goodnight kiss, they departed, and the night was still again.

* * *

The next day, around midday, Zelda sat in her father's study. Her father was out about the castle on business, and Zelda wanted to sift through the laws to see what she could find. She pulled out the large books about the royal laws that have been in place since the beginning of ancient kingdoms. Opening the first one, she moved to the marriage section.

"_A young prince must find a young princess by attending…"_

"Hmm, princes, that's not what I'm looking for. Where…" Zelda muttered. She scanned the page until she saw information about first born princesses.

"There it is." She said triumphantly, placing her finger under the words.

"_A young, first born princess of a King and Queen will be visited by many young princes in the months before her 18__th__ birthday. She will make time getting to know each and every suitor that comes to visit in order to make a decision. A young princess must wed a young prince of noble blood from another country. In doing so, an alliance between kingdoms can be strengthened, and the kingdoms can be ruled by another noble King and Queen."_

Zelda frowned. _That's no good, I must keep searching._

Pushing that book aside, she pulled open another one and found the marriage page. _This one looks more detailed, maybe a loophole will be listed here._

"_A princess of noble birth born to a King and Queen of a Kingdom will be visited with gifts and offerings prior to her 18__th__ birthday, in order to assist her in choosing a noble suitor to rule with her through the rest of her days. She will meet with them regularly and at the ball celebrating her 18__th__ birthday, the young Princes will gather at the ball and the Princess will choose the suitor she deemed most worthy, all of them of noble blood, descending from a line of Kings and Queens."_

Zelda growled in frustration and pushed that book aside as well. Grabbing the third book, she had just opened it to the marriage page when she heard a voice.

"Zelda. Zelda, what are you doing?" Zelda felt her cheeks go pink and she looked up to see her caretaker since birth, Impa, standing at the front of the desk.

"Oh, um, Impa, I was just…" Zelda said nervously as she saw Impa looking at the books. "I was brushing up on the laws. I am to be Queen soon, as you know."

Impa glanced at her briefly then turned all three of the books in her direction. Zelda swallowed nervously as Impa looked at all three of the marriage pages open in front of her. Zelda had not told Impa of her relationship with Link, she was still unsure of how Impa would react. She knew her caretaker would not approve.

Impa looked back up at Zelda and spoke slowly. "I am glad to see you studying the laws, dear Zelda. I will leave you to resume doing so." Zelda looked at Impa strangely, hearing the odd tone in her voice. Impa left the room, and Zelda turned back to the books.

"_A young princess…"_ Zelda read.

* * *

As Impa walked down the hallway away from the study, she thought about what had just occurred. She noticed that all three of the pages were open to the pages about royal marriages, and she noticed the flustered appearance and behavior of the princess. Deciding she must evaluate the situation, Impa headed toward Zelda's chambers.

Upon arrival, she pushed open the heavy doors, and looked around the room. It was tidy and nothing was out of place. Small decorations and pictures of her family were on top of her dresser, nightstand and vanity, and there were pictures on the walls of her family and of the beautiful parts of nature outside. The bed was made up and clean.

Impa began to look through the drawers of the dresser and found nothing but Zelda's clothes. She opened the nightstand and found nothing but little belongings such as journals, drawings, and pencils. She walked to the closet, which contained nothing but Zelda's gowns and shoes. Approaching the vanity, she saw the hairbrush on top, and began to rifle through the drawers. In the first two, she found nothing but makeup and hair accessories. But as she pulled open the third drawer, she paused.

She picked up a handful of the notes with her hand and read them carefully. _Top northwest balcony. The pond in the back gardens. The stained glass hallway in the back of the castle. The courtyard with the tiny bridges._

Below the places listed were various, random times throughout the day. As Impa read through these notes, she could not identify who wrote them or what they were for. It was obvious they were meeting places. _She could be meeting her sister, but this handwriting seems too sloppy to be Eliana's._

As Impa pondered this, she put the notes back in the drawer, except for one. Picking a random note, she slipped it into her pocket and shut the drawer. Zelda would not miss one note, and Impa needed to find a match for the handwriting. Slipping out of Zelda's room, Impa headed towards the office where every staff member of the castle had signed several forms that were stored there.

Days passed, and it was the day of the masquerade. Zelda and Eliana rushed toward Zelda's chambers after lunch, where they would prepare for the masque together. They typically prepared for the balls together, as they would help each other get ready.

Eliana sat down in front of Zelda's vanity and Zelda did Eliana's makeup after doing her own. Zelda began to twist and curl and pin up her hair, while Eliana picked out the right accessories to wear with the dress. Once Eliana's hair was finished, Zelda sat down on the vanity, and a servant woman began to do Zelda's hair, for the younger Eliana was not as experienced in that area of expertise. After both of their hair was done, the maids began to strap and hook them into their corsets and dresses, and they began to finalize the accessories.

"Wear those red shoes, Zel. They'll match the dress perfectly." Eliana said as she put on the necklace she had chosen.

"You're absolutely right, Ellie." Zelda's voice came from inside the closet. "Those light blue ones you chose will make you the talk of the town, dear sister."

Eliana laughed. "You can't even see them under the skirt."

"When you pick up the skirt to walk, all the men will be admiring your pretty feet. That reminds me, I need to paint your toenails." Zelda exited the closet and propped Eliana's feet up on a footrest, and painted Eliana's toes with bright silver. Zelda's toes were painted with matching silver, and they both had French manicures on their hands.

"Done!" Zelda said, clapping. "Now don't mess those up. You sit there until they dry."

Eliana saluted. "Ma'am, yes ma'am."

Zelda sat down beside Eliana at the vanity and opened her drawer of notes. She smiled as she began to read through them, as she liked to do sometimes. She frowned as she noticed something. The papers made a rustling noise as she rapidly sifted through them.

"Hey, where's the one about the courtyard with the mini bridges?" Zelda said, confused.

"What's so special about that one?"

Zelda sighed in remembrance. "That's where Link and I first met, remember?"

"Oh. The note isn't there?"

Zelda moved through the notes once more. "No, that one is gone."

"Maybe it accidentally fell out on the floor and one of the cleaning maids threw it away."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

* * *

Later that night, it was time for the masquerade to begin. Having finished preparing themselves long before, the two princesses made their way to the ballroom. Many guests were already gathered there, and the guards would silence them to announce the arrival of the royal family.

"King and Queen Harkinian and their two daughters, Princesses Zelda and Eliana, have arrived." The guard's voice rang through the ballroom.

"Time to shine," Zelda whispered to Eliana as they raised their masks up in front of their faces and walked slowly behind their mother and father. After they entered, the small talk and dancing resumed, and the Princesses made their way to the floor.

At the beginning of the first slow dance, Zelda immediately felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see those beautiful blue eyes and soft blonde hair that she adored behind a fancy mask.

"May I have this dance?"

Zelda smiled and approached him as he took her hand and her waist and pulled her in.

"You look quite handsome in that suit."

"And you look quite beautiful in that dress."

On the side of the ballroom, Impa stood watching Zelda dance with the masked man that she had not identified yet. She looked over to see Eliana dancing with Zelda's old suitor, Prince Tobias.

The dance proceeded through the night and while Zelda danced with many of her suitors, Impa noticed she still saved room to dance with the first man two more times. She made a promise to herself that she would find him afterwards. Eliana danced with many young men, but danced with Tobias once more.

At the end of the dance, Impa spotted Zelda, and immediately looked around her, assuming she would find Zelda's masked Prince Charming. But he was nowhere near her. That was when she spotted him by the door on the other side of the ballroom, but by the time she made her way over, he was gone. She grumbled in frustration and knew she would need to find another opportunity to get him.

She looked back at the Princesses. The suitors were kissing Zelda's hand goodnight and departing, while Eliana stood nearby, occasionally receiving a kiss on the hand out of respect from some of Zelda's suitors.

After all the guests had departed from the ballroom, Zelda and Eliana retreated to Zelda's chambers, where they retired the accessories and dresses and prepared for the night.

"Oh, Ellie, wasn't that so much fun? I do love the balls." Zelda said as she hung her necklace back on the vanity.

"As do I. It's really quite fun, and the suitors are very nice. They're such gentlemen." Eliana said as she removed the pins from her hair. "I noticed you got a few dances from Link too."

"And you got a few dances from Prince Tobias! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked my young, handsome suitor." Zelda teased. Eliana's cheeks went pink, and Zelda froze. "You DO like him!" She exclaimed loudly.

"Shhh!" Eliana hissed, turning even redder. "He's quite nice to me, and his sense of humor is divine, and he's still younger than you, and that's still weird. So what if I think he's wonderful? If I can get him to fall for me instead of you, it'll be good for both of us, because you have Link anyways."

Zelda smiled. "Oh, Ellie, I tease, but in reality, this is great. If you've already found a suitor you like, father will most definitely be pleased. It'll be easy to marry you away on your 18th birthday."

"Yes, it quite will be. I would marry a man like Tobias."

"Is it just because he's attractive?"

"Zelda!" Eliana scolded, but laughed.

Later that night, Eliana removed her diary from under her pillow, and grabbed her pen.

_So the night went on, and Zelda and I retired to bed after the ball. I'm still concerned for the sake of my sister, because Zelda will turn eighteen in three months, and a decision will have to be made. May the Goddesses bless her tender heart to make the right decision when the time comes, and bless her to be happy with the life she'll choose. May the Goddesses bless her to become the Queen that Hyrule needs._

* * *

**Done!**

**I want this to be done before school begins so I won't have to worry about it, but I should definitely be able to get it done in time. For those of you also reading my Legend of Korra story, I'm slowly but surely working on that.**

**Please review, it makes me oh so happy! Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The next chapter is up! Yaay!**

**Those of you who have reviewed, thank you thank you thank you! It makes my day so much better!**

**As I've mentioned before, I consider all advice given in reviews while writing, so please tell me what you think and what I could do better.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, just my OC's.**

**"Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control." -Robert Browning**

* * *

The shuffling of papers was the only noise that could be heard in the silent study at the moment, until the occupants of the room spoke again.

"Well, girls, we discussed the history and the legends of this land, and the hour is up, so your class is over for today. Go upstairs to your rooms and change clothes, and we'll head outside to practice your athletic skills." Impa said.

Eliana squealed and jumped up, but composed herself after receiving a scolding look from Impa. She loved practicing her archery and her swordfighting. Zelda stood up slowly, looking at Impa.

"Come on, Zel!" Eliana said, grabbing her sister's hand. Zelda glanced at her, then looked back at Impa. The Sheikah noticed this and looked at Eliana.

"Ellie, go ahead and go change, Zelda and I will meet you out on the field."

Eliana let go of Zelda's hand, looked between the two of them, and left the study.

Impa turned to Zelda. "I sense you have something you wish to discuss with me."

Zelda looked down nervously and then back up towards her caretaker. "I simply desired to know if you had any knowledge of any legends of Hyrule where the Princess was not limited to marry someone of only noble birth, and she married someone she loved. I would love to hear such a story."

Impa paused. "Does this have anything to do with you searching through the marriage laws the other day?" Zelda turned pink, and Impa smiled. "It's alright, dear. In answering your question, your ancestors from centuries and centuries ago in all the stories and legends married their heroes and their lovers. But that was at the dawning of time, Zelda. Before the Hyrule became the established, governed and traditional Kingdom that it is today. Back centuries ago, Hyrule was not the same. It was not the strong domain with laws and nobles and traditions that it is today. Although marriages like that occurred in the old days of your lineage, it has not happened that way for hundreds of years. Hyrule and all of our neighboring kingdoms have held traditional weddings between the nobles with no exceptions for hundreds of years now."

Zelda nodded at her wise caretaker, keeping her face level of expression. "I understand. Thank you, Impa." Zelda took a step back when Impa stepped forward and grabbed her hands.

Impa sighed. "I know that was not the answer you desired to hear. I am your caretaker and have been since you were born, don't speak so formal with me. I want you to really talk to me and tell me what's on your mind. My dear girl, I will look deeper into history and inquire around the castle and around my travels, and if I find anything to be of use to you, I will let you know. I care about you and Ellie, Zelda. Because I care about you, I am helping you with this, but I also must tell you that whatever man is behind this-" Zelda opened her mouth to protest, but Impa held up her hand and Zelda stopped. "I was young once too, Zelda. It's fairly obvious. As I was saying, whatever man is behind this behavior, I must remind you, because I care about you, that you have a duty to your kingdom. I hope he is a respectable man that, even if he is not a noble, one that would treat you well and rule the Kingdom justly as your Father and Mother have, if you or I were able to find a way for you to marry him despite the laws. I should be quite disappointed if you threw away your duties for a man that was nothing more than greedy scum. But I know you are better than to give your heart to such a man. So though I pity your situation, and hope you realize your duty and sort your priorities, I hope he is a good man that makes you happy."

Zelda smiled, seeing once more why she loved her caretaker so much. Lifting her hands, she threw herself into Impa's arms, holding her tight. Impa laughed in surprise, and returned the hug of the princess.

"Have I told you lately that I love you, Impa?" Zelda said quietly.

"Not since you were a little girl, not really." Impa squeezed her tighter, knowing her princess was not a little girl anymore.

"Well, I do. You've always been a second mother to me."

Impa felt her heart go heavy with affection as she smiled. "And I love you both as if you were my own daughters." Releasing Zelda, she put her hands on the young princess' shoulders. "Now let's go, Ellie waits for us in the courtyard."

Zelda grinned. "Yes, Impa."

* * *

It had been a particularly grueling day for Zelda. All of her days are busy and filled with things she wished she could escape, but today had been even more so. It was just upon the evening and Zelda collapsed in her chambers, clutching the note that Link had pressed into her hand hours before.

Slowly, she opened it. _The side gardens next to the big bush sculpture. 7:00._

_That's in an hour! I can rest and clean up before I go see him._

She changed dresses and washed up, then sat in her chambers reading a book until the meeting time came. Feeling more calm and rested, she walked out to the side gardens. There was a large bush statue that was the pride and joy of the gardeners; they had used tree trimmers to cut down this impressive bush into the shape of the King Harkinian. It was incredibly accurate for a bush sculpture.

As Zelda approached it, she saw a shadow on the other side of it. Smiling, she walked around, and saw the face of her Hero looking tenderly at her.

After pulling her into a tight hug, which she completely enjoyed after her hard day, he released her and grinned at her with a goofy expression.

She gave him a confused smile. "What?"

He shifted on his feet. "Well, I saw how tired you were earlier today, and I figured you wanted a break from the castle life. So, I brought a casual middle class dress outfit for you for a disguise. I'm taking you out of the castle and to Lake Hylia. There's a huge festival going on there tonight, and people from all around Hyrule are gathering. Do you want to go?"

Zelda could have exploded from delight. "Oh, yes, a million times yes!" She jumped into his arms again, and he caught her as he laughed, holding her tight around her waist.

"Well, here's the dress I brought you. I hope you like it. It's definitely not as nice as something you wear in the castle." He reached into the bag he brought, and pulled out a simple white dress. It had short cup sleeves, a round neck that exposed just enough of the area below her neck but not too much, a belt around the waist, and flowing ripples that landed a little bit below her knees. The top half of the dress was flowery lace, with material underneath, as the lace is see-through. Zelda's mouth fell open as she took the dress, admiring the simple elegance of it. She hardly noticed Link had pulled something else from the bag. She froze as she looked at the matching shoes in his hand.

"Oh my goddesses, Link, this is amazing." He turned slightly red as he smiled.

"Well, I-I'm glad you like them." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "You can probably c-change behind the line of smaller bush statues over there, I-I'll go stand over here and face the other way. I can carry the dress you're wearing now in my bag, so we don't leave any evidence."

Holding back laughter at his obvious embarrassment at the topic, she took the outfit and headed behind the decorations in the garden. Minutes later, she came out and twirled as she smiled at him. The dress fit her perfectly, and Link thought she looked more beautiful than he'd ever seen her.

"How do I look?" Zelda said, pressing her previous dress into his arms. He gently tucked it into his bag, being careful not to tear or ruin it.

"You look… amazing." Link said. Then he paused. "Um, I hope it provides you lots of mobility, because not only will we be dancing at the festival, but it might require a bit of ability to sneak through the path I found that we have to use to get out of here."

Zelda grinned. "Come on then! I'm up for an adventure!" He grinned back at her and smiled, then realized something. He stopped to stare at the crown on her head, and she noticed. "Oh." She said softly, gently removing it and holding it closely. "I suppose you'll have to hold this for me too, it'll be a pretty big giveaway." Reluctantly she extended her crown toward him, and he tucked it carefully as he could into his bag with the dress.

As they reached the edge of the gardens, they reached the fence that held their freedom on the other side of it. She looked longingly through the bars, then quickly moved behind a bush as a guard appeared on the other side of the fence.

"I brought Epona outside the fence already, by the river where we'll escape. She won't be seen there, and she'll help us make our getaway." Link whispered. "Come this way. There's vines we can use to climb up and over the fence, but we'll have to do it quickly and quietly. Thank goodness it's dark or this wouldn't work."

As they continued along the perimeter of the fence, they reached the end where the fence stopped and there was a mountain of rock that the fence touched. Sure enough, there were vines that went from one side of the fence to the other.

A guard was patrolling on the other side of the fence, but he was a yard or so away, and if they were quiet enough, he would never see them.

"I'll go first so I can scope out the area on the other side. Also, since I'm one of the captains of the guard, it'll look less suspicious to see me standing there alone until you cross over." Link said again, and quietly began to climb the vines.

Zelda stood anxiously for several minutes until he was on the other side. But just as he was about to motion for Zelda to come over, the closest guard shined his flashlight straight at Link, and Zelda moved quickly behind a bush.

"Captain Link, what are you doing out this evening? Are you on your way to the festivities?" The guard asked casually.

"Hey there, Rick. Yeah, actually, I thought I should scope out the festival and make sure nothing's going on there. It's also a pretty big thing that doesn't happen often, I thought it'd be nice to go see it for a little while. I can bring you back some sweets or something." Link said, chuckling.

The guard laughed. "Well, that's not necessary, but that'd be pretty swell of you if you actually did. Just tell me how the festival is when you return, alright?"

"Will do, soldier. Have a good night." Link said, smiling at the guard. The guard turned and began his patrol to the other side, the flashlight now facing the opposite direction. Link quickly waved Zelda over, and she began to climb the vines. She had just crossed over when it was almost time for the guard to patrol in their direction again, so he quickly grabbed her hand and they ran away from the castle, sticking close to the rock that would take them around the corner to the river. After a few moments, they reached the river, and Epona was standing along the side. Zelda excitedly ran toward the horse, and Link lifted her on. He climbed on behind her, and took hold of the reins from either side of Zelda as she sat sidesaddle in his arms.

"And we're off," Link whispered, grinning. Zelda quietly squealed, then laughed as they began their journey.

* * *

They arrived shortly at Lake Hylia, and the lights and music and masses of people set Zelda's heart on fire with excitement. The lake was a beautiful sight as the strung lights reflected on the water. She could see the people talking and laughing as she dismounted the horse. Link led Epona off to the side where she wouldn't be in the way, and joined Zelda in admiring the festivities. There were tables of food, and people from Kakariko and children from the Kokiri Forest moved about excitedly. There were even a few gorons and zoras that had decided to attend the party.

"Come up with a fake name for yourself now, because when you talk to people, you can't introduce yourself as Zelda." Link said in her ear. He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly as he smiled at her.

Zelda thought for a moment. "Call me… Tara."

"Tara. That's pretty. Now let's go party, Tara." He said, nudging her side as he grinned at her. As they walked to the center where everyone was dancing, it wasn't long before they were interrupted.

"Link!" An excited voice called out. They looked over to see a grown-up Malon running towards them. "Wow, you haven't come by the ranch in a long time! Busy with your new duties at the castle, huh?"

"Yeah, I have been. It's been good though. How's the farm?"

"Oh, it's really well. My father finally got rid of that nasty ranch hand, Ingo. He was filth, and we hired a new one, who's a lot nicer."

"It's about time! That's good. Oh, Malon I-" That was when Malon noticed the girl who was holding tightly to the hand of the Hero.

"Who is this?" Zelda resisted to the urge to squirm under the stare of the red-headed girl.

"This is my girlfriend, uh, Tara."

"It's lovely to meet you, your name is Malon? That's beautiful." Zelda said.

"Oh, um, thank you." Malon said, not taking her eyes off Zelda.

"Tara, when I wasn't coming to your, uh, house to visit you, I often spent time at the ranch where Malon lives, bonding with the beauty I'm proud to call my horse, Epona." Link explained. "That's where I met Malon and her father."

"That's lovely. If the rest of your farm is as good as the milk you ship out, you must have excellent horses." Zelda said to the girl.

"We do, you could always come by and see them." Malon said. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look for a friend. It was nice to see you Link, come visit the farm sometime." Malon turned and walked back into the crowd.

"Well, that was interesting." Zelda said.

Link sighed. "Yeah, sorry about that, she's kinda had a thing for me since we were kids. I think it took all her willpower to be nice to you once she realized we were dating."

"That's sad, she seems like she'd be nice if she didn't hate me."

"Zelda, she doesn't hate you. She just doesn't want to accept the truth. Now let's go."

They ran into the crowd, and decided to spend the evening dancing. Zelda knew many of the dances from her experience at the castle, and Link stumbled along trying to follow her. She twirled in and out of lines, and watched closely as Link followed the steps of the other men as close as he could in the dances. When the first slow song began to play, Link immediately stepped up and took her around the waist. She sighed contentedly, when all of a sudden he released her waist, grabbed her hand, and twirled her slowly, and she laughed in pleased surprise.

"Link, thank you so much for taking me out here. This is amazing and beautiful and wonderful and I never get to do things like this." Zelda said as she tightened her arms around his neck, swaying to the music, and pressed her forehead to his.

"What about the balls?" He said quietly. "They're not much different from this."

"I have to behave in certain ways at the balls. For example, I can't do this." Grinning, she turned her head slightly and pressed her lips against his quickly and impatiently, and she felt him smile against her lips as he returned the kiss. They kissed for a few more moments before breaking for air, and Zelda smiled as she enjoyed being tight in his embrace.

"Do you ever wonder," Zelda whispered, "if this fight is really worth it? I mean, I told you what Impa told me. What are the chances my father would ever approve of our relationship?"

Link hesitated before responding and pulled his face back slightly. "Are you saying you don't want to... be with me anymore? I mean, I guess I should have-" Zelda panicked as she felt his arms around her loosening.

"No, no, I…" She tightened her arms around his neck desperately and leaned up against him further, nuzzling her face against his own. He stood there, barely receiving her, unsure of what to feel. "You're the greatest person I've ever known, and the only person besides Ellie and Impa that I've ever really been able to go to, and I… I want us to be together more than anything else in the world, but I just… don't know what we can do, and…" His arms around her tightened again, reassured by her words, and leaned his head against her own.

"I don't know either. Sometimes I wonder if this is hopeless, and sometimes I think, this is crazy, we haven't even been together very long and already we're battling against everything we've always known. But I know I don't want to let you go, despite the risks, and I think that if Impa helps us, there's no way your father would turn us away from each other." Link said, kissing the top of her head.

"Do you even want to rule?" Zelda said, looking up at him.

Link hesitated again. "Honestly, the idea is kind of frightening. But with you by my side, I think I can handle it."

"You can do anything without me; you did during Ganondorf's reign. You saved me."

"Oh please, Zelda, I couldn't have done it without your help as a Sheikah."

Zelda grinned. "So you admit! Where's your ego now?"

Link looked down at her, surprised, and then started laughing. "You tricked me, you naughty woman."

Zelda grinned. "Get used to it."

* * *

Hours later, at the end of the festival, Link and Zelda began to ride back to the castle. They had danced awhile longer, and then played festival games. Link had won Zelda a stuffed horse, and Zelda knew it was something she'd hold on to forever. She had met so many nice people that night and had finally felt like a normal person.

They snuck back into the garden, after Link handed the guard a bag of sweets, which amused and greatly pleased him. Back in the gardens, Zelda changed back into her castle dress, and Link tucked the festival dress and shoes into his bag, so the castle maids wouldn't ever find them in Zelda's room. Zelda took her prize, said goodnight to Link with a kiss, and headed back up to her chambers, where Eliana was waiting for her.

Upon seeing Zelda enter, Eliana ran toward her elder sister.

"Ellie, it's late, why are you still awake?" Zelda said quietly, after receiving her younger sister's hug. "You should go back to your room."

"Where did you go? It felt quite empty without you here." Eliana said.

"You know that festival they have every year on Lake Hylia?" Zelda said, grinning.

"You went there?!" Eliana exclaimed, and Zelda quickly hushed her.

"Yes, Link took me in disguise. It was wonderful."

Eliana sighed in jealousy. "I've always wanted to go."

Zelda smiled and wrapped her arms tight around her sister. "Someday you will."

"Oh, father and mother came by asking where you were. You'd better come up with an excuse tonight, because tomorrow morning they'll ask you questions."

"Thank you, dear Ellie. I wish to sleep now, but I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay, Zel." Eliana smiled as Zelda kissed the top of her head, and Eliana quietly left to sneak back to her chambers. Zelda changed into her nightgown and washed up for the night. After collapsing into her bed, she smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

Back in her chambers, Eliana was writing in her journal again.

_Zelda's getting more and more smitten with her Hero, and although I want to feel happy for her, it also fills me with dread, because when her birthday comes soon, she's going to be hurt. She knows well of her duty to the castle, and she's going to lose the man she wants to be with to fulfill it._

* * *

**Dramatic journal entries, yay!**

**Well, thank you all for reading! Any kind of review is great, even flames, they help me improve, so let me hear what you're thinking!**

**Have a great day, you guys!**


	5. Chapter 5

**We're getting there! Woohoo!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter! I love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, just my OC's.**

**"Even in the most infertile of all lands, a seed of love always grows." -Unknown **

* * *

"Impa, where is she?" The King said impatiently. The King and Impa were standing in the King's study with a tall young man with dark hair. "Prince Edmund has been waiting for a half hour for Zelda to come to this suitor meeting. Go get Eliana and see if she knows where Zelda is." The King said as calmly as he could manage.

"Yes, sire." Impa said, and walked out.

"I sincerely apologize for the tardiness of my daughter, Prince Edmund." King Harkinian said. The Prince smiled gently and shook his head.

"It is no trouble, sire. I understand the doings of life can be busy at times." The Prince said.

In the hallway, Impa quickly found Eliana, and took her by the arm, pulling her in close.

"Eliana, where is Zelda? You must tell me now. Prince Edmund has been waiting for her for half an hour. If you know anything about her whereabouts, inform me immediately." Impa said roughly.

Eliana began to panic. "Oh, um... she's…" _I can't tell Impa that she's with Link. Think, Ellie, think…_

At that moment, Zelda walked through the side doors leading in from outside. Impa released Eliana, who exhaled loudly in relief, and strode quickly toward Zelda, wasting no time. Impa took her by the arms and stared her square in the face.

"Zelda, Prince Edmund has been waiting for you for a half hour!" Impa said angrily, and Zelda's eyes widened. "Where on earth were you, child?!"

Zelda paused, fidgeting nervously in Impa's grip.

Impa sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Nevermind. Just come on." Impa began to lead her quickly away to the King's study.

Once they arrived, Zelda entered hurriedly and curtsied to the Prince. "My sincerest apologies, Prince Edmund. I had not realized the time."

Prince Edmund approached slowly, bowing and taking her hand, kissing it. "It is no trouble, Princess Zelda. Shall we head out to the gardens?"

Zelda sighed with relief. "That would be lovely, Prince Edmund." She took his arm and they strolled outside to the garden.

* * *

Some time later, Zelda headed back up towards her chambers. She wasn't surprised to find Eliana in there, but she was surprised by the mood of the younger princess.

Zelda smiled and sighed. "Ellie, you'll never guess what Link said to-" Zelda stopped and frowned as she saw the look on Eliana's face. Pure, full anger.

"…Ellie?"

"I'm done, Zelda. I'm done listening to you preach to me about duty and responsibility and queenship and then run off to your secret peasant boyfriend and be unacceptably late to your suitor meeting, which is part of your duty as a princess. You're being quite the hypocrite, and I'm sick of it. I-"

Zelda's lips formed a tight line before she responded angrily. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to be late! I wasn't trying to avoid it! And as for Link, I have a duty to my heart as well as my Kingdom! I-"

Eliana shook her head. "What you don't understand is that it will all be for nothing! You found nothing, Impa has no news of anything, you and Link don't even have a chance! You preach to me about the importance of everything, the suitors, the meetings, and then you don't even care about it! I've been putting my heart into everything, the lessons, and I've even really tried to get to know the suitors! I'm doing what's expected of me as a princess and you're the one who gets to- um, is going to be queen! I was going to lie to Impa for you when she asked me where you were, and this is going too far. You can't keep doing this!" Eliana yelled as she paced around the chambers.

Zelda visibly shook as she formed a response. "I am seeing the suitors. Just because I was late to one meeting doesn't mean I'm suddenly a horrible Princess. I've been listening well to all of my lessons as well, don't act as if you are superior simply because you like one of the suitors. I will be a fine Queen, and when we find the solution, Link is going to be-"

"Link, Link, Link." Eliana mocked angrily. "This isn't about him. This is about you completely overturning the duty you've been burning in my head since I was little girl. I'm grateful for it, because it's made me into who I am today! Someone who can actually fulfill what she knows she must do! I'll say again, do you really think you have any chance of being with him? You two are trying to overturn centuries of tradition when you've only been together for several weeks, and what for? So you can be the first princess to completely shirk her duty simply for her 'heart'?" Eliana's hands were clenched as she stared at Zelda angrily.

"I am not shirking my duty! I am going to be a Queen one day, and with Impa's help, Link is going to be there with me! In time, he'll learn to be the King that Hyrule needs, and the people would accept and love him!" Zelda raged.

"No, Zelda, that's where you're wrong." At this statement, Zelda flamed up immensely.

"Don't you dare tell me that I'm wrong. If only the people knew what he did, they'd be bowing before him in the streets and all the girls would be swooning at the sight of him! Unfortunately for us, they can't know, but once they see Link for who he is, they would have no reason to object!"

Eliana held up her hand angrily. "We BOTH know that this is not the life that Link wants. He'd do it if you wanted him to, because he cares about you. But you know just as well as I do that he wants to be out in the world, riding his horse and practicing his swordfighting! He doesn't know anything about being a King, while the princes have been groomed for it their entire lives! Taking you away to the festival just proves all of this!"

"In all the stories and legends Impa has told me, the Heroes have all been just and strong rulers over the lands! They-"

"Those are STORIES, Zelda! This is not a fairytale! This is reality! You need to get your head out of your books and really think about what you're doing! We don't have happily ever afters! Mother and Father's marriage was arranged!"

"Why do you care, Eliana? How would my decisions, whether they're right or not, affect you? I never asked you to lie to Impa for me, you did that of your own free will! You can do whatever you want, you can study to be a Queen and marry Prince Tobias and leave me to make my own choices! Why are you getting so involved?"

_Because I care about you, Zelda. _"He took this job as the Captain of the Guard to be with you, Zelda! And as great as that is right now, he's going to realize he doesn't want to be here! I can see it in his eyes when he looks out the castle windows at the fields of Hyrule beyond the grounds!"

"Don't talk to me about what Link wants, Eliana. I know him better than you do. I'm your elder sister, yet you speak to me as if you are my superior." Zelda hissed through her teeth.

Eliana stared at her in silence for a minute, then threw up her hands. "Whatever. I'm done here. You're not stupid, Zelda, you're just so blinded by your feelings that you can't see reality." Eliana walked quickly out of the room, not looking back at the gaping, fuming Zelda.

* * *

"I've never fought with her like that before, Link. I don't know what to do now." Zelda sighed as she sat in the garden with Link. They sat on one of the benches, Link's arm around Zelda's shoulders.

"You're both reasonable people, Zel, I'm sure you'll make up soon. But, Zelda, there's something I really need to-" Link said nervously.

"I just can't believe she would say those things! She said we didn't have a chance, I mean, I know she likes you, so it's not that she doesn't want us to be together, I just don't know what she wants, I mean-" Zelda continued on, oblivious to Link, who was trying to get her attention.

"Zelda, I need to-" Link tried again.

"Who does she think she is though? I love her, but she was way out of line with some of the things she said!"

"Zelda, please-"

"Impa really has been trying, she'll find a solution for us, we just need to be patient-"

"Zelda!" Link exclaimed.

Zelda turned to look at him in shock. "You know, Link, that's kind of rude-"

Link sighed and shook his head. "This is important. I'm leaving, Zelda."

"You- you're- what?" Zelda said quietly.

Link looked at her sadly. "There's been an influx of monster attention in one of the neighboring Kingdoms. The King is sending the army and some of the castle guard, along with some of the captains, to go help the Kingdom get rid of the monsters. Seeing as the King knows about how I saved Hyrule long ago, naturally he picked me to be one of the captains that gets sent out to the other Kingdom. I don't know how long I'll be gone. A month or two? The traveling really won't be far, just a day or two traveling distance, but it'll take a little time to rid all the monsters from the Kingdom. We'll clear them out as fast as we can, and I'll return here to you."

Zelda looked down for a moment, then up again. "Well, I will continue to search while you are gone, and when you come home, I will have a solution for us."

Link pulled her in close, nuzzling her face with his nose. "We're leaving tomorrow morning, but I'll be home before you know it."

"I'll be counting the days until you return."

* * *

Zelda awoke at dawn to the gentle noise of horses, supply wagons, and the shuffle of footsteps and armor. Gently arising from her bed, she put her silk robe on over her light nightgown and walked quietly to the large balcony doors. Pushing open the massive, glass doors, she stepped out onto her balcony, one of many on the castle. The sun was rising, so the sky was an array of beautiful colors. She looked down at the grounds, where the guards were lined up in formation, the wagons ahead of them. The captains were on horses, walking around the formation to survey it before they departed. She quickly located Epona and watched her Hero ride around on the horse, preparing for their leave. She watched him point to direct the last of the supplies to the wagons.

It was then that she saw him look up and locate her balcony. Slowly raising her hand, she waved to him. Zelda smiled as she saw his arm lift up and wave back, and she felt a twinge of sadness in her heart. But as she saw his hand go to his mouth and then out in the air, she giggled quietly and reached her hand out to catch his kiss, taking it to her heart.

From down below, Link looked at his princess up on the balcony. Shining under the rising sun, he knew he was going to miss her for the time he was away. He couldn't stop the smile that crossed his face when he saw her wave at him, and then when she caught his kiss.

"I'll come home to you. I've fought monsters for you before, I'll do it again."

In the doorway of Zelda's room, Eliana stood and watched her elder sister wave goodbye to the man she's sacrificing everything for. After watching Zelda for a few minutes, Eliana turned to walk back to her chambers. Pulling out her journal again, she began to write.

_I feel bad that Zelda and I fought. I feel bad that I said such negative things, but I was angry. I won't say that I understand her behavior, because she's still risking everything for nothing. But I just don't want us to be mad at each other for it anymore. I want us to be best friends again when she gets married in two short months. I don't want her to have any extra problems, I fear she'll already have a lot when she's forced to marry a suitor she doesn't love. She knows her duty, I just hope she'll sort out her priorities._

* * *

The next day, Zelda had another meeting with Prince Edmund. She met with each suitor multiple times in order to get to know them well and be able to choose when she turned 18. She walked toward the study, knowing she needed to be on time. _I need to show Eliana that I still care about my duty, even though I care about my heart too._

She arrived a few minutes early, but Prince Edmund was already there. He bowed and smiled at her, and the King looked pleased. Zelda curtsied to the Prince and took his arm.

"Shall we head to the gardens again?" The Prince asked.

Zelda paused, and then smiled up at him. "We can, later. But first, I actually want to show you something. Have you seen the famous History Hall in this castle with all the stained glass windows?"

"I have not, that sounds fascinating."

"It really is! Can I take you there first?"

"I think I'd like that." Prince Edmund smiled as he said.

As they walked through the hallway, they were silent for a few minutes, until Zelda saw Eliana.

"Prince Edmund, have you met my younger sister?"

Zelda looked up at him and almost laughed at the embarrassed look on his face. "I, um, I was not aware you had one, Princess."

"That's quite alright. That's her, over there. Her name is Eliana." Zelda pointed to Eliana with her free arm, who was standing in the hallway talking to one of her teachers. Eliana glanced over at them, and Zelda waved shyly at her, hoping Eliana would wave back for the sake of the Prince despite their fight. To her surprise, Eliana smiled and waved back with more enthusiasm than Zelda did. Zelda sighed with relief and smiled.

"She looks quite nice. I hope I can meet her sometime." The Prince said.

"Someday, I'm sure you will. But right now, it's time for your history lesson!" Zelda said, grinning up at the Prince and pulling him down the next hallway. She heard him laugh in surprise and couldn't help smiling.

Soon, they had reached the hall. It was a very long, wide, elegant hallway, with dozens of stained glass windows on one side wall, so you could walk along the hallway and look at the story they told.

"These first ones here, they begin in the very early days of Hyrule, and tell the story of the Kingdom and the famous legends of how it came to be. They talk of the Hero of Time defeating the dark powers in the land. The Hero sealed away the dark powers and Hyrule was strengthened through the combined power of the triforces from the Hero and the Princess from the legends." Zelda explained as she walked slowly through the hall on the Prince's arm.

He stopped and looked up at the windows with obvious interest. He walked slowly by them, looking at the pictures on each one. Each window was very tall, reaching from the floor of the hallway to the top, but they were not the shape of a perfect rectangle. They curved into a point at the roof. They were very vivid and colorful, and depicted the history of Hyrule with incredible majesty. When the sunlight shined through them, it lit the hall with color and light.

"These are incredibly beautiful, and amazing. My castle should have something like this." The Prince said, smiling. "We have quite the library though. The library itself is many stories tall, taking up a large portion of the castle, and there are books in there by the hundreds. I often spent my days there as a young teenager. Our history is in those books."

"That sounds absolutely charming. I'll definitely have to see it someday." Zelda said, completely sincere. She wondered what how many novels were contained in there.

"You know what?" The Prince said, suddenly coming up beside her and grinning down at her. "Next time, you come to my castle, and I'll show you all of my favorite books."

"I'd like that very much." Zelda said, looping her arm through his once more. They continued down the hall of windows, until they got to the most recent history. "These windows here begin to tell the official restoration and establishment of Hyrule and its government that we have today, when all the traditions and such were formed. Out with the old, in with the new."

Soon they reached the end of the hallway, and Zelda heard a sigh of contentment come from the prince. "That was completely brilliant, the best thing I've seen in a long time, Princess."

"I'm really very glad you enjoyed it, Prince Edmund."

"Please, just call me Edmund."

"On one condition."

Prince Edmund chuckled. "And what might that be?"

"You just call me Zelda."

"I think I can do just that."

* * *

**I like this chapter better than the last one, even though Link is leaving. I feel it's more important and provides a fresh taste to the story, unlike the first four chapters that have all been similar.**

**Please review! I consider all advice! Flame if you must, it helps me!**

**Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Now for your feature presentation, the next installment in "This Cliché Love Story", by LlaraTheExplorer!**

**Har har har. But seriously, yay, new chapter!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter! You guys are the best.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, just my OC's!**

**"So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... every day." _― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook_**

* * *

"Here we are. Wait until you see this, it's magnificent." The dark haired young man said as he pushed open the large, antique, fancy doors. As the blonde haired woman followed him inside, the smell of old books immediately overtook her senses and she closed her eyes as she smiled contentedly and breathed in.

She heard him chuckle next to her. "You're the first I've brought in here whose first action has been to smell the room." She grinned and opened her eyes.

"The smell of old books is so relaxing, Edmund. It makes me feel at home and free at the same time, if that makes any sense." Zelda said, laughing quietly.

"I know exactly what you mean."

Zelda now took the opportunity to look around the giant library. The multi-level library in Edmund's castle was one that Zelda knew she could not easily forget. Books ran along every wall and on bookcases separate from the walls. One could walk to the center of the room past the spiral staircases and look up. Each floor had a wide hole in the center with a railing around the edge, so one could see the ceiling of the highest story in the library, several stories up. Zelda was speechless as she grasped one of the four spiral staircases that surrounded the hole in the ceiling and ascended to the next level. On the next level, there were even more walls and cases of books, as if it went on forever. The only walls of the library that didn't have books were all the walls on the far right, because they were entirely window, but they had bedded ledges against the window where you could sit and read as you looked out. The view of the windows extended beyond the castle and you could see much of Prince Edmund's kingdom.

Zelda exhaled as she stood on the second level, taking everything in. "Wow."

"Brilliant, isn't it?" She heard Edmund's voice come up next to her. He had followed her up the staircase and was smiling down at her. "When I need to escape reality, I love to come in here and grab a book and just read. It really takes my mind off of everything."

Zelda smiled back and continued to look around the library, reading the labels on the shelves that described what the literature was. "I'd love to have something like this in my castle."

Edmund gestured to the headings on the shelves. "This level of the library is the historical one. This is where the biographies and the books about history and art and related things are. The first level where we just were is the official one, where the laws and information and such important things are found. The third level is my favorite, can I show you?"

"I'd love to see it." Edmund smiled and gently took her arm, leading her to the next spiral staircase and escorting her upwards. They reached the top and it looked no different from the other levels, with the same shelves and windows and ledges. Edmund gestured to the headings again. "My father wouldn't want me to admit it, but I'm a bit of a dreamer. This is my favorite floor because it's where we keep the novels. The fiction. The other worlds, the fairytales, the adventures, the stories our parents told to us as children. I've probably read almost every book on this level by now. I don't tell many people because my father doesn't want my head in the clouds, but I feel quite comfortable around you. Every one of your suitors has a secret, this is mine." He laughed quietly and studied her face for a reaction.

Zelda started laughing softly. Edmund's eyebrows drew together as he tried to understand why she was laughing. _She thinks I'm a fool. _"Um, Highness, what amuses you?"

Zelda smiled up at him and took his arm. He felt his body relax. "I told you to call me Zelda. And it amuses me because my father tells me the same thing. I have a collection of novels hidden under my bed where the maids won't find them, because my father and my sister would also rather I read other things."

Edmund chuckled. "Your sister? It seems like a younger sister would enjoy reading novels with you."

"Yes, it does seem that way. Believe it or not, my younger sister loves reading the law and informational books. I don't know what she finds interesting about them."

"At least she'll know all she needs to know about her responsibilities."

Zelda grinned up at him. "Isn't that what the council is for?"

Edmund laughed and looked down at her. "You certainly are something else."

* * *

Zelda returned to her own castle later that day. As she retreated to her room and changed for the day, she sat down on her bed to think. Link had only been gone two weeks and already she had been missing his presence at the castle. She had been meeting with many of the suitors, Edmund keeping his promise to show her the library. It was now a month and a half to her 18th birthday and she was getting nervous.

Zelda strode through the castle until she found Impa. Pulling her aside, Zelda desperately spoke. "Have you found anything?"

Before saying anything, Impa took Zelda's arm and gently led her to the study where they could speak quietly.

Impa sighed. "Zelda, I have inquired about like I promised you I would. But it hurts my heart to tell you that I have found nothing. Ever since the kingdoms formed centuries ago, tradition has upheld. Your mother, grandmother, and great grandmother all chose a suitor. It has been the same in the other kingdoms."

Zelda looked down at the floor and said nothing. _So all along, Ellie's been right. _"Zelda."

Impa put her hands on Zelda's shoulders. "Zelda, dear, I do not want to be the bearer of bad news, but you are no exception to the rule. All the past princesses have done it and you have a duty to the kingdom. You are nearly eighteen, almost an adult. I don't want to say it, but you have to pick a suitor, and go about it maturely, like a princess should."

Zelda closed her eyes and turned away.

"Do you hate me for saying such things, Zelda?"

She turned toward her caretaker and smiled sadly at her. "I could never hate you, Impa. And I know you're right. I just wish you weren't."

Impa smiled sadly in return. "You handled the news in the manner expected of someone as dignified as you, Zelda. I'm proud. But what is not expected of someone of your maturity is your little escapades with the man."

Zelda looked at Impa, slightly surprised, and was silent for a moment before speaking. "You don't have to worry about that anymore, Impa." She said bitterly. "He left the castle for a time."

Impa said nothing before the recognition hit her. "So… he was a soldier?"

Zelda turned to leave, but looked back at Impa with a knowing smile. "The very best."

* * *

Another week passed, and the monthly ball was coming again. Zelda made a trip down to the tailor shop in Market Town for her dress fitting. Upon entering the tiny shop, she looked past the rows of fabric and outfits and dresses to the back of the shop, where the alterations section was. Heading back, the women of the shop brought out the dress she had picked so she could try it on and get it fitted to her body.

As they handed her the dress, she took it gently and stroked the soft fabric with her fingers.

_Emerald green._

She sighed as she wondered why she had picked a dress in the color that hurt her heart so much to see. _Is it because I miss him more than I'm willing to admit?_

After she put the dress on, she stepped onto the small stand so the women could work on the dress around her. After a while, the women finished the work of the day's fitting and Zelda returned to the dressing room to remove the dress. She exited and gave the dress back to the women, who took it away to the back of the store. That was when Zelda saw Eliana enter the store.

They made eye contact, and Zelda gave her a very small smile, which was returned by the sister. Eliana walked through the store and approached Zelda.

Zelda was silent for a moment, looking at the younger girl. "Hey, Ellie."

Eliana looked up into Zelda's eyes and smiled. "Hi, Zel."

Zelda looked down for a moment before looking back up towards her sister. "Um, you've been right all along. I'm sorry."

Eliana reached forward and took Zelda's hands. "Well, that still doesn't excuse the things I said. I'm sorry too. But... if you know what I said was true, about the probability of any of this actually working out, what are you going to do?" Eliana said softly, squeezing her sister's hands in concern.

Zelda hesitated, looking sadly into her sister's eyes. "I don't know, Ellie. What can I do?"

Both were silent again, and the tailor women came around with Eliana's dress for the fitting. Eliana released Zelda's hands, and with one last look at her elder sister, turned toward the dressing room. Zelda walked slowly out of the shop, knowing she had to do something, but had no idea what.

* * *

_Of course it's the Hero of Time. Why would it be anybody else? I should have known all along. _Impa thought.

After her conversation with Zelda, Impa knew that the Princess had told her without really telling her. Her last statement was an obvious hint, especially since Impa knew he'd been sneaking into the castle since Zelda reset the time. Zelda didn't know Impa knew, of course. But Impa always knew.

The head captain of the guard that had been sent to the neighboring country often sent letters back to Hyrule to keep the kingdom updated on their progress there. They sent one every week. Impa held another letter in her hand, heading to the study to read it to the King.

She knocked, and was granted entrance. Bowing to the King, she held up the letter.

"The latest one, sire."

The King nodded. "Please, read it."

Impa opened the letter and the crinkling of paper broke the silence in the study.

"_Your Majesty,_

_The progress here has been well. As I stated in the first letters, the journey to the Kingdom was uneventful, but once we arrived at our first destination here in this Kingdom, we began to understand why they needed us here. We were ambushed, and by a lot of them. But you already know all of this._

_To update you on the recovery of the troops, most were wounded at the ambush, but none died. We killed a fair amount of the monsters before they retreated. The Kingdom is sending out some of their own army to help us, but they are grateful for our help. _

_After we tended to the wounds from the ambush, we followed the fresh trail left behind by the retreating monsters. After some traveling we came upon their camp and gave them a taste of their own medicine with our own ambush. We came out completely victorious that time. The camp was exterminated and we are recovering from that now._

_Our three weeks out here have been successful so far, although we've already had a fair amount of wounds. No men have died yet, but I fear that luck may not last much longer. There are many more camps, these monsters have hives everywhere. We still need a few more weeks out here, but once the army comes to help us, the work should finish quickly. If all goes as planned, we should be back in Hyrule next month._

_Always loyal to you and Hyrule,_

_General Hall"_

The King smiled. "Sounds like it's going well. Thank you, Impa."

"My pleasure, your majesty." Impa said, bowing, before turning to leave.

* * *

The leaves crunched underneath his feet as he walked around the camp, surveying the damage done to his men. Lying under the trees, they sat being tended to their gashes and hits, getting strong again before the camp moved on.

He heard a slight whinny, and turned to see his best friend with a red coat and a white mane. He walked up to her and took her head in his hands.

"Hey, girl." Link said softly as he stroked above her nose. "You didn't get hurt, did you?" Stepping back, he walked around her in circles, and to his relief, didn't see anything.

He sighed and walked up to Epona again, petting her and whispering to her to comfort her. He had almost been thrown off her back when the monsters came out of nowhere.

_A sudden loud roaring sent all the men to their feet, and Link gasped loudly as Epona reared. Holding onto her mane tightly and squeezing the saddle with his legs, he managed to stay on, and tried to look around. His ears buzzed with the sound of yelling, roaring, metal clashing, and the bodies of the monsters cutting open. When Epona finally settled, he focused his vision, gripped the hilt of his sword, and dove in. Cutting at monsters as he rode by them, he tried not to become overwhelmed at the sight of the many monsters._

_A loud roar to his left caused his head to whip that way and he barely had enough time to react as the monster jumping at him from out of the trees. The monster collided with his body and knocked him off Epona, who reared and galloped away. The monster had Link pinned to the ground and cut him before Link had time to grab for his weapon. Struggling to keep the monster's knife away from his neck, Link patted the nearby ground quickly for his sword with his free hand as the monster leaned over him with the hunger in his eyes-_

Link shut his eyes quickly and exhaled loudly, trying to block out the flashback that had just returned to him. He had finally found his sword and had killed the monster right on top of himself, just as his men had gotten them to retreat. He opened his eyes again and looked down at his left arm where the monster had cut him. It was bandaged and he was faring fine. After the monsters retreated, he had gone to find Epona, who was hiding away from the fight some distance away.

"You alright, Captain Link?" He heard a voice say. He turned slightly to see one of his younger soldiers standing in front of him.

Link smiled weakly at the boy. "Yes, soldier, I'm fine. Thank you. How is everyone else recovering? Are your wounds treated?"

The boy smiled weakly in return. "The men are fine, the last of their wounds are just getting bandaged up. Mine is fine, I was lucky enough to avoid a serious wound. It's a small one."

Link walked up to the boy and patted him strongly on the shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that. Thank you for the concern, and for your report."

The boy nodded and spoke once more before turning to walk away. "Thank you, Captain."

* * *

**We're starting to get into the good stuff, it seems. (:**

**Hope you guys are enjoying it!**

**Please let me know what you think in all honesty, reviews are marvelous!**

**Thank you! I love you guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow, this chapter is... wow. A lot is happening here.**

**Well, anyway, thank you, my faithful readers and reviewers, I love you all. Seriously.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, just my OC's.**

**"Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own." -H. Jackson Brown Jr**

* * *

It was the middle of the fourth week since the army had been gone. At the end of the fourth week was the monthly ball. This ball was of more significance than the others. This ball marked one month until Princess Zelda's 18th birthday. This was the ball where, as tradition upheld, the Princess would choose from the suitors she'd been bonding with for several months. She would choose that night, and the next month would be wedding preparations so she could marry on her 18th birthday.

The castle was expecting a letter from the army in the middle of this week, as was typical. Impa strolled down to the entrance to the castle to check to see if the letter was received, and as if on cue, the letter deliverer rode up with his cart towards Impa.

"Hello, Impa." The driver said with a smile.

"Good day, Roran. I assume you have the letter from the army this week?"

The man hesitated, looking at her nervously. "Well, not from the army, but I have one from the castle of the Kingdom where the army is at. It's stamped urgent." He timidly held out the letter, and Impa quickly took it.

"Thank you." Impa said, nodding, and quickly entered the castle, ascending to where the King's study lay. Upon reaching the large wooden doors, Impa knocked. She heard the King call to her from inside, and she entered.

The King looked up upon Impa's entrance. "Letter from the army, I assume?"

Impa looked down at the letter. "Not from the army, from the Kingdom of Israna."

The King looked up at her for a moment in silence. Then he spoke. "Read it."

"_King and Queen Harkinian of Hyrule,_

_I would like to express that we are deeply grateful for your army's help. They completely evicted a few camps and it has been a great help to us. But unfortunately, this letter is not just an expression of our sincere gratitude. I fear this letter is of more of a serious nature._

_We've been keeping in contact with General Hall so that we know of their location and we can help them if need be. Only days ago, they told us of their location and told us that they would wait for us to arrive before they attacked more camps. They needed time to recover anyway. We arrived at the location they told us and the army was not there._

_We searched the campsite, and there were signs of a fight. Dirt was torn up, trees were scratched, and there was blood of both human and monster on the ground. We searched for footprints leading away from the campsite, just in case the army had needed to make an emergency evacuation._

_It pains me to say that the only footprints we found walking away from the campsite in any direction belonged to monster and horse. We found no human footprints. This leads us to conclude that, since there were no bodies at the campsite, the bodies and live horses were taken away as captives by the monsters._

_We regret that we have to inform you of these circumstances. The work that your men did helped our Kingdom a lot and we are sorry for their loss. My army will go out and continue to search for the rest of the monsters. We can only hope that when we kill the last of these monsters, we will discover the places they have your men kept. I hope we can reach your men in time._

_My deepest regrets,_

_King Farren of Israna."_

When Impa finished, the study was more silent than the King or Impa had ever known it to be. Not a sound was made as the two processed the information, the sorrow filling their hearts.

* * *

Impa walked sullenly through the castle hallways, looking down as the clenched the letter tight in her right hand, the paper crinkling. She was on her way to give the letter to Zelda, whom she knew would need to hear the news.

Ascending the large and elegant castle stairs, she reached Zelda's room.

Impa raised her fist to the door, but froze. Her lips drew into a tight line as her fist trembled.

_My poor, sweet Zelda._

Clenching her teeth to prevent herself from making a sound, she raised her fist once more, determined to deliver the bad news to the Princess.

Inhaling deeply, she took action and knocked quickly three times on the large wooden door.

"Come in." She heard the light, graceful voice of the Princess Zelda on the other side.

Exhaling the large breath she'd been holding, she grasped the door handle tight and shoved the large door. It slid open, and Impa's eyes searched the room for the princess.

She was sitting on her bed, and sitting next to her was the Princess Eliana. It appeared as if they had been deep in conversation. Zelda smiled at Impa, and waved her forward.

"Hello Impa," she said, smiling. "Did you need something?"

Impa felt her hands start shaking again as she held up the letter she had nearly clenched to tearing and extended it forward, making eye contact with the Princess as she spoke. "My dear Zelda. I am so sorry."

With her final words, she turned and retreated from the room.

Zelda and Eliana were silent for a moment. Zelda looked down at the crinkled paper she had taken from Impa, and she slowly pried it open again and began to skim the letter, Eliana reading over her shoulder.

Zelda felt her own body tense, and the letter slipped through her fingers as her brain felt frozen and overwhelmed. She heard Eliana choke back a sob, and that was when Zelda realized how tragic of a love story theirs really was.

_My dear Zelda. I am so sorry._

* * *

**[Flashback to several days before the previous events]**

Link sat upon Epona, supervising the pack up of the camp. They had been at the site recovering for some time, and they weren't completely recovered, but they were recovered enough to move. They would recover more on the journey. But today was the day that the Israna army was supposed to come out and join them in their fight against the monsters, so they would not leave until the army arrived, which was soon, no doubt.

After the soldiers finished loading things onto the horses, the captains surveyed the campgrounds on the horses while the soldiers lined up in formation, making sure nothing was left behind. Evidence left on the grounds would only add to the chance of them being tracked and ambushed.

"Sir?" Link heard one of the soldiers speaking to the Head Captain.

"Speak, soldier." The Head Captain replied, as Link listened from a little ways off.

"We took inventory of the sleeping mats and we have one less than when we first left Hyrule. We searched the campground and it's not here. I think we left it at the last campground."

The Head Captain was silent for a moment. "Well, there's nothing that can be done about it. We'll just need to move on and hope the monsters don't find it. If we missed it during the campground check, it must have been hidden quite well, so they might not be able to find it either."

"Yes, sir."

Not long after, the campground was approved as clear. Now the only thing they had left to do before moving on to exterminate more monster camps was wait for the Isranian army to arrive.

After waiting for about an hour, noises were heard coming towards the camp. The men turned and looked in the direction of the sound and all were anxious and excited at the same time, because that meant the army was coming and it was time to get moving again.

Then noises were heard coming from another direction, and the men looked around in confusion. _Are they meeting us from multiple sides? I assumed they would all come together, _Link thought.

When more noises were heard coming from a third different direction, that was when Link's heart began to pound. _This isn't right._

When the final group of sounds came from the fourth direction, the army began to realize they were surrounded on all sides. The only thing they could hope for was that it was the army after all, but in their hearts, they all knew what was really happening, they just didn't want to admit it.

They had been tracked and discovered, and there was nowhere to retreat.

Link began to look around quickly, watching for any sign of an attack. _No, no, no, this can't happen. _He kept his eyes on the horizon, watching for an army, human or monster. He felt his breathing grow louder and his heart pump harder. He watched his men shift nervously on their feet, and he just wanted to run.

_But I won't. I'll fight for Zelda, and for Hyrule._

Link wished he could say that he saw the monster army on the horizon and gallantly ran out to meet them and destroyed them all, the army returning home victorious.

But that's not how it happened at all.

It happened much faster.

One minute the campsite was quiet, and the next, the monsters were coming from everywhere. From the north, south, east, and west, and even digging up from the ground. Some even jumped from the trees. They were more than surrounded. The monsters must have teamed up because this was a larger number than any of the camps they had exterminated before.

Everything was a blur. Link was swinging his sword left and right, cutting off monster limbs and stabbing them through their hearts. Though the rest of the army fought just as valiantly, there was nothing they could do when there were ten monsters per man in their army.

Link felt one of the monsters land on the back of Epona behind him, and he tried to swing his sword backward to kill it, but when his arm didn't move, he realized another monster had landed on the back of Epona in front of him and bound his arms, knocking his sword to the ground. The one behind him roughly grabbed his head and tied a cloth around his mouth. Link grunted, attempting to kick and twist and use whatever limbs he had left to save himself. Epona was surrounded on the ground by several monsters, and they held Link's legs still as they tied his legs to the saddle.

He realized he was completely helpless.

With the last of his conscious moment, he glanced past the monsters and at the rest of his army.

Every single one of his men was bound, even the captains on the horses. The monsters were leading the horses with the captains on the horses' backs, and some of the soldiers were unconscious.

Link watched the monsters knock his soldiers over the head and throw their unconscious bodies over their shoulders, trudging off into the distance.

He felt his heart go heavy with both sorrow and anger as he watched this occurrence. But it wasn't full outrage until he saw what happened next.

Epona, her natural stubborn self, was resisting the control of the monsters, pulling back and attempting to kick some of them. The monsters, impatient with the mare, took out whips and began to hit Epona from all sides.

Link immediately roared through his gag and twisted even harder, giving each monster the most threatening glare he could muster and attempting to free his arms and legs. _No one hurts my horse!_

But before Link could make further attempts to help his loyal friend, he was knocked over the head himself, ad he slumped over Epona's neck as he blacked out.

**[End of flashback]**

* * *

It was the night of monthly ball, one month before Zelda's 18th birthday. This was the ball where all of her suitors would arrive and line up, and she would choose which suitor would be her husband.

Zelda was unresponsive and sullen as the servants dressed her, did her makeup, and did her hair. She sat in silence, as Eliana sat in the same room, getting prepared as well. They weren't speaking as they usually did, and the room felt uncomfortable.

After both Zelda and Eliana were prepped for the ball, the servants shuffled out, and Eliana and Zelda sat in silence for several more minutes.

Eliana was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Zelda moved away from the vanity to come and join her. Sitting close, she put her arm around Eliana's shoulders and carefully pulled her in tight.

"You know, Zel," Eliana said quietly, "just because the army is missing doesn't mean they're dead. Link could still be out there somewhere."

Zelda closed her eyes and exhaled. "I know, Ellie. But I can't count on it, especially when Father is basically threatening me with my life to make sure I choose a suitor tonight. Tradition holds true, Link is gone, and my 18th birthday is in a month. My fate is set, dear sister."

The sisters were quiet again after that. It seemed that everything they had been fighting for was in vain.

* * *

Some time later, the ball had begun. Guests arrived in fancy chariots and formal outfits, their dresses and suits rustling as they walked, and their shoes clicking against the marble floors. Music played loudly from the front of the room, and the guests moved about the room as they either danced, sat, or dined on the elegant selection of light foods.

Zelda stood out of sight and she closed her eyes. It was not time for her to make her entrance, and she needed to think. Her mind flew through her memories of the last several months, the moments she spent with her many suitors. Her lips drew tight as her brain moved to memories of Link against her will.

_I can't think about him now. He could be dead, and I must choose a suitor tonight. I must do this for my people._

She heard the music stop, and she heard her Father begin his speech. She listened for her cue, and when it came, she stepped from behind the curtains onto the raised section of the ballroom where the King and Queen sat and watched their guests dance.

She felt all eyes on her, and she forced a small smile, waving lightly at her guests.

Her Father began to speak again.

"My friends, this dance is no ordinary dance. My daughter's 18th birthday is a month from now, and as tradition states, she will make a very important decision tonight."

Zelda swallowed, looking out over the crowd.

"She has spent several months meeting with every one of the young princes that I approved for her, and tonight, she will choose one to take as her husband for life and rule next to her, justly and righteously. Young Princes, would you please step up."

The line of young suitors came out from among the crowd, and they stood in a straight line at the bottom of the few steps that led to the raised area of the ballroom. There were ten of them, and Zelda looked them all over briefly, her heart pounding.

"As tradition states, Princess Zelda will take my Golden Staff that is the representation of my status as King. She will walk across the top of the steps and stop in front of the suitor she has chosen. She will extend the staff down toward the Prince at the bottom of the steps, and he will take hold of the Staff and walk up the steps holding it until they stand together at the top of the platform and look out unto you, my friends, as the future King and Queen of Hyrule."

A suspenseful and excited silence fell over the ballroom. The King turned toward Zelda, smiled affectionately at her, and slowly extended the staff towards her. Zelda gracefully walked toward her father, taking the tall staff in her right hand. Turning away from the King and toward the people, she looked slightly down at the line of suitors at the bottom of the stairs. A few of them looked as nervous as she was.

Before moving toward the edge of the steps where she would walk, she briefly looked over the line of the suitors once again. She made eye contact with all of them and smiled slightly, hoping to ease them. She dwelled longer in the eyes of the Princes Tobias and Edmund.

After she had finished acknowledging all of the Princes, she looked out over the people and began to speak, as was tradition.

"My friends and guests," she said confidently, projecting her voice. "I sincerely thank you all for being here to witness such an important day in my life. I have spent much time growing to know each of the young Princes, and I cherish the memories of the time I spent with each and every one of them. Each one is a man worthy to be King, and making such a decision has weighed heavily on my mind. To the Princes who do not get chosen, please know that I still value you in my heart and I hope that our countries can still be strong allies and friends."

Behind Zelda, the King smiled in pride of his strong daughter. He knew she was nervous, but she held herself with such grace and confidence that he could barely tell.

Finishing her speech, Zelda smiled out at the crowd once more and slowly walked toward the top of the few steps. Turning to her left, she began to walk across the raised platform to stop in front of the Prince she had chosen. He was no Link, but he was the Prince whom she had most enjoyed her time with.

She tried not to look in the faces of the first five Princes she passed, one of them being Prince Tobias. She did not want to see their disappointment at not being chosen.

She reached the sixth Prince in the line. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding faster than ever, and stopped.

The ballroom went more silent than Zelda had ever heard it in her entire life, even when it was empty. She could feel the effect on everyone that her decision had made. Turning to face forward, where the line of Princes stood, she looked slightly down at the bottom of the three steps, where she looked into the face of the Prince she had stopped in front of.

The dark-haired Prince Edmund looked up at her with wide open eyes. She smiled as she looked into his face, and she slowly extended her right arm, where she held the staff. Edmund did not break eye contact the entire time she extended the staff, until finally, his left arm reached up slowly to hold the staff with her.

He held Zelda's eyes as he slowly ascended the small flight of steps to stand next to her at the top.

He stood on her left at the top of the stairs, as he held the staff in his right hand above her left hand on the staff. The two of them looked out over the people of the ballroom, Zelda feeling the warmth from his hand radiating near hers.

"The nine young Princes who were not chosen," she heard her Father say behind them, "please return to your seats holding yourselves high with dignity, knowing that we hold you in the highest honor."

The nine Princes turned and walked out to their families in the ballroom, and once they went out, the King started again.

"Princess Zelda has made her choice tonight. She has chosen the Prince who will reside by her for the rest of their days. They will rule and grow and learn together, bonding as they uphold the positions they have been fated for since their births. It pleases me immensely to welcome young Prince Edmund into my family. On this day next month, there will be a wedding in the castle gardens, and it would honor us all if you, my friends, were in attendance. Thank you for being here, my guests, and thank you, young Princes, for all you have done for my daughter."

The audience in the ballroom began to clap quietly for a moment before it died down. The King walked up to Prince Edmund and Princess Zelda at the top of the stage, removing the staff from their hands. He turned around toward his Queen and handed her the staff, then focused his attention back toward Edmund and Zelda. He took their arms by the wrist and closed their hands together gently.

Zelda and Edmund intertwined their fingers, and the King backed up from them, taking the Golden Staff back from the Queen, and the two returned to their thrones before the King spoke again.

"Tradition continues still. It is ritual that the future King and Queen share a kiss before the ball begins once more, and that the two of them share the first dance." The King said.

Their hands still entwined, Zelda and Edmund turned toward one another, all eyes on them. With his free left hand, he reached forward and took her gently by the waist, and she reached her free right hand up to his shoulder. Pulling each other closer, Zelda leaned slightly upward, and their lips met in a short, chaste kiss.

Once they pulled back, the music started, and Edmund led Zelda down the steps to the floor, where they would share the first slow dance.

Once in the slow dancing position, they began to sway, and as Zelda looked into his eyes, she realized something.

_I enjoyed the feeling of his soft lips on mine, and he smells quite nice, _Zelda thought. Then she frowned slightly. _Even though Link is gone, I still feel like a traitor for thinking such things. I'm engaged now, and getting married in a month. As much as it hurts, I need to let Link go._

"Are you alright, Zelda?" She heard Edmund's voice.

Zelda looked up into his soft green eyes, and it stunned her when she saw affection in them. _He cares for me._

She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand tenderly. "I am, Edmund. I'm still just a little anxious from the pressure of such a display." He smiled down at her, and although Zelda couldn't help missing Link, she wasn't even positive if he was alive, and she knew this is what she must do.

Edmund looked away for a moment with a thoughtful look, and then turned back to her. "Zelda… my Zelda. I can't say I understand why you chose me out of all those men, but I want you to know that I will do what I can to make you happy." When Zelda looked into his eyes again, she knew he meant it.

"Oh, Edmund. I know you will. In fact, you already have." Zelda said, and warmth rippled through her at the pleased smile she saw on his face after she said that. "You've brought me much comfort in these last few stressful months. You were the obvious choice out of the Princes in my mind."

As they smiled at each other, Eliana watched from nearby in the ballroom. She had witnessed the whole ceremony, and she knew that Zelda liked Prince Edmund, she just hoped that Zelda would appreciate him, despite what she'd lost.

_I miss Link too, _Eliana thought. _But like Zelda said earlier, her fate is set._

* * *

**Please don't hate me.**

**Yeah, yeah, I promised you Zelink, and I give you this. I'm such a jerk, I know. But the story isn't over yet.**

**Read and review please! (:**


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